Beautiful Deceit
by a novelist
Summary: Sequel to Wish Upon a Star.
1. Chapter 1

Hello, again, everyone! So I didn't like where the first version of this story was going at all, so I decided to rewrite it. First of all I'd like to thank my beta, Silver Screech, for all of her amazing help and ideas for the story. And second, for those who put this story on your favorites and alerts originally, I hope you enjoy this version just as much, if not more, than the last.

Chapter one's up! Enjoy.

* * *

Darkness. All she saw when she awoke was darkness. She was alone, in a dark room, in a much too quiet house. She didn't know how she had gotten there, but she knew one thing: she had to get out.

Then, she heard it. A gun.

Bang!

The silence was broken. Instinctively, she cringed, half-expecting to feel pain. It took her a moment to realize it hadn't been aimed at her.

They were crazy. She had to escape, had to find a way out. Somehow, someway.

Footsteps came running down the hallway. The door burst open, and she suddenly found herself staring down the barrel of a gun. She heard the sound of a safety latch being released. Then -

"Tori."

Someone was holding her. _I have to escape,_ she thought. She lashed out, immediately making contact with something solid. She kicked and screamed, determined to be free again.

The grip on her arms loosened for a moment before the person began shaking her. Then she heard someone's desperate voice.

"Tori, babe, wake up."

She awoke with a start, out of breath and practically in tears. Her heart raced. She looked around the room. Dream, it was just a dream, she realized. She sat up slowly. Beck was sitting on the bed beside her, his eyes full of worry. He reached out and caressed her cheek.

"You're alright," Beck said. "You're safe."

She let out a half-sob before Beck took her in his arms. She buried her face in his chest as he stroked her hair gently. He kissed her as his hands continued to soothe. "You're safe now."

Beck finally calmed her enough to get her to lie down again. He held her gently in his arms; she rested her head against his chest as she tried to convince herself that Beck's words were true – she was safe.

* * *

Beside her, Beck lay awake, willing himself to find the sleep that refused to come. He peered at Tori and was relieved to find her asleep, hopefully for the night. He kissed her gently. "I love you," he whispered. He closed his eyes.

It had been almost a year to the day since Tori's kidnapping – a day when everything in their once near-perfect world changed forever. The doctors who evaluated her had warned them that Tori may have after-effects of the kidnapping, such as insomnia and post traumatic stress.

Neither of them expected it to be this severe.

He hadn't slept in what felt like days. Neither of them had. They were both exhausted. She had told him many times not to worry, to go back to sleep. He couldn't just lie there, knowing she was going through pure hell only inches away from him.

He buried himself under the covers and was almost, just almost, asleep when his cell phone rang. He groaned.

"Go away," he mumbled. He was grateful when the ringing stopped and the room fell silent. He closed his eyes.

His phone rang again.

He snatched the cell phone up, half tempted to break it in two, just to make it stop. Instead, he glanced at the caller ID. Unknown caller.

He carefully crawled out of bed. Beside him, Tori stirred but did not wake. He left the room, closing the door softly behind him before answering.

"Hello?"

"Beck! Hey, glad you're awake."

"Andre?" Beck glanced at the clock. "First of all, why didn't your number show up in my phone, and second, do you have any idea as to what time it is?"

"The answer to your first question is my grandma got scared when my phone started ringing and threw it through the window."

"Through the glass and everything?" Beck asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. Unbelievable, right? So I just got a new phone - which I had to buy with my own money, by the way. And for your second question, I happen to know that it is around eleven o'clock there, and eight here. I just called to chat – I figured you were still awake. I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No. Actually I've been up most of the night with Tori." He sighed and walked down the hallway toward the kitchen. He turned on the light before going to the freezer.

"Is she sick or something?"

"She's been having these nightmares lately – something about masked men with guns. She said they were the same men who kidnapped her."

"Really? That happened almost a year ago."

"I know." Beck sighed and took the container of vanilla ice cream from the freezer. He shifted the phone to his other ear as he got down a bowl. "I'm sure that's what brought this on in the first place." He took a seat at the table and wearily rubbed his eyes. "This can't keep happening. Neither of us are getting enough sleep at night. With both of us working...it's going to have major effects eventually, and none of them are going to be good."

Andre was quiet for a long moment.

"Are you still there?" Beck asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here. I was just thinking…has she tried therapy?"

"Getting her to go to therapy?" Beck gave a short laugh. "I doubt it."

"Just talk to her. Tell her to consider it. It might be just what she needs."

"Yeah, maybe. I'll ask her." Beck sighed. "So how are things going at UCLA?"

"Aw, things are great here. Jade just got one of the main parts in the school play here, and I just got offered a really good record deal."

"Really? That's great! Congrats."

"Thanks. It's not official yet, but within a few weeks…I could be famous."

Beck smiled. "I'm sure Tori and I will be the first to buy your album."

"Of course."

Beck walked to the window and looked out. The night was calm and peaceful. He closed his eyes. Memories of dancing on a cool May evening flashed through his mind. A time when things were different. Simpler.

"Onto other things, I'm actually glad you called. I needed to talk to you about something. Before I continue I need you to swear you won't tell Tori anything about it. It has to be completely secret."

"Hm. I'm intrigued. Alright, I promise. What's up?"

"I – "

"Beck?"

He turned. "I'll call you back later," he said into the phone.

"But – "

He hung up, abruptly ending his conversation.

Tori stood in the doorway wrapped in her light pink robe and matching fuzzy slippers. Her hair was pulled back into a sloppy ponytail and her cheeks were slightly tear-stained.

To Beck, she looked absolutely beautiful.

He gave her a small smile. "Hey, what are you doing up?"

"Something woke me up and I couldn't get back to sleep," she said with a shrug.

"I'm sorry, I tried to stay quiet…"

"No, no, it wasn't you." She sighed and walked toward him. "It was…something else."

Nightmares. He took her in his arms; she wrapped her arms around his neck. "So what's your excuse for being up so late?"

"Andre called. Must've been bored or something." He kissed her gently before pulling away. "Maybe some hot cocoa would help you get to sleep?"

"Sounds good."

As Beck filled two mugs with water and cocoa mixture, Tori took a seat at the table. A moment later, Beck joined her.

As they waited for their drinks to warm, they sat in silence. Beck ran a hand through his hair. It was then that Tori noticed a dark bruise forming on his shoulder. She winced. "That looks like it hurts."

Beck shrugged. "It's not the worst you've done, don't worry," he replied.

"I'm sorry I've kept you up the past few nights." She smiled. "You're probably regretting ever asking me to move in with you."

Beck returned the smile. "Don't be crazy." The microwave beeped, announcing that their cocoa was hot. He stood and removed the two steaming mugs.

"I love you, and I promised to stay with you, not matter what, remember?" He set one of the mugs in front of Tori then took a seat across from her. "I just wish there was something I could do to help you."

She took a sip of her drink. Beck watched her carefully for a moment. She was obviously exhausted – dark circles under her eyes and pale white skin were proof of that. He thought back to his conversation with Andre.

"You know," he began slowly, "Andre had an idea that might just work. Something to help you sleep at night and hopefully get rid of your nightmares."

"Really? What's that?"

"If I tell you, will you promise to keep an open mind about it?"

She looked at him skeptically. She slowly set down her drink, but kept her hands around the mug for warmth.

"Possibly," she said. "What's his idea?"

"He thinks you should talk to a therapist."

She raised her eyebrows.

"A therapist?"

"Yeah."

"No. I doubt I even have time to do something like that, let alone come up with the money – not until I get paid in a couple weeks. And with opening night coming up soon…"

"Something has to be done. You can't keep living off of two hours of sleep every night, or with so much stress. It's just not healthy."

She sighed. "I know."

"Will you at least give it a chance? At least for a few sessions."

She sighed. She was quiet a long moment as she considered it.

"Fine. I'll try it."

Beck released the breath he had not realized he had been holding. "Thank you."

Beck stood and took their now-empty mugs to the sink to wash them out. Tori came up behind him and slipped her arm around his waist as she rested her head against his shoulder. He turned off the water then turned back to Tori. "You should get to sleep. It's almost midnight."

She nodded and kissed him gently before starting down the hallway. When he did not follow, she paused and turned back. "Aren't you coming, too?"

Beck shook his head. "I'll go to bed in a few minutes. I need to call Andre back," he said.

He waited until he heard their bedroom door shut to make the call. Andre answered on the first ring. "Hey, thanks a lot, man. Thanks to you I was forced to have an in depth conversation with my roommate over the meaning of life."

Beck smiled and fought back a laugh despite himself.

"That sounds interesting. How'd that turn out for you?"

"Horrible. Anyway, what's this big secret you had to tell me?"

"You have to prom – " Beck began, but was cut off.

"I promise, I promise. Just let it out, man."

Beck took a deep breath. "I need to ask you a favor."


	2. Chapter 2

As promised, here's chapter 2 - finally. I haven't given up! Thanks for those who have very patiently waited for this long overdue update, and thanks for all of the awesome reviews!

This came out kind of long...but anyway, chapter 2 is up! Enjoy!

* * *

The next morning, Tori awoke to the sound of her alarm. For a moment she lay there, hoping that somehow, if she ignored it long enough, the noise would stop. Unfortunately, alarms did not work that way.

She reached over Beck to turn the alarm off before sitting up and drowsily rubbing her eyes. She sighed and looked at Beck, who remained in a dead sleep. Gently, she nudged him.

"Beck, it's seven. Time to get up," she said.

"Five more minutes," Beck mumbled into his pillow. Tori rolled her eyes. She kissed his cheek before crawling out of bed.

"As long as you're ready in twenty," she replied. "I think you hit the snooze button a few times too many."

She showered, quickly dressed and put on her makeup. She had just put on her tall high-heeled boots when the smell of breakfast reached her. She went into the kitchen, where Beck was standing over the stove.

"Smells good," she said.

He looked up. "Thanks. I thought we'd have lunch for breakfast, so I decided on grilled cheese. Something quick and easy." He picked up a spatula and flipped one of the sandwiches.

She walked over to him and put an arm around his waist. He smiled down at her.

"You look great," he said.

She smoothed her skirt. "I have another audition today with the casting director of _Beautiful Deceit."_ She sighed. "I'm really nervous."

"They asked you back for a second audition. That should tell you something right there."

"I know, but there's so much pressure. To have a chance to star in a Broadway show is an amazing opportunity."

Beck turned off the stove. "I've seen what you can do," he replied. "I know what you're capable of. This audition – this job – it's yours."

He took her in his arms and she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Do you really think so?"

"Absolutely."

She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. He held her close as they enjoyed the quiet moment alone.

Beck reluctantly broke the silence. "We've got to go."

Tori nodded and reluctantly untangled herself from Beck's arms. He handed her one of the sandwiches. "Maybe we can meet up for lunch?" he said.

She smiled. "Sounds good. I'll call you when I'm on break." She gave him a quick kiss. "Love you."

"Love you, too. Drive safe."

* * *

Andre picked up his car keys and cell phone before heading toward the door. He glanced anxiously at the clock. Twenty minutes.

Mentally, he went through the list of items needed for the meeting. ID, social security number, and a "bright smile and cheery attitude," according to his future manager.

He stopped once in front of the full-length mirror to give himself an once-over before opening the door – only to run right into Jade.

"Jade, hey, I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

She shrugged. "That's fine. Mind if I come in?" She started to step inside.

"I was actually just leaving. I have a meeting with the record company in half an hour." He put on his coat and turned off the dorm room light.

"Fine. I'll walk with you. We need to talk." Jade fell into step beside him as they walked down the hallway.

"Alright. About what?" Andre asked.

"What's this I hear about you quitting school?"

"What?" Andre stopped still. "Where did you hear that from?"

She shrugged. "I have my sources. It's not true, I'm assuming?"

"Of course not." Andre continued walking. He pushed through the double doors and went down the stairs to the main floor. Cool air greeted him as he opened the door leading outside.

"Just checking. I thought that maybe now that you had this record deal you'd forget about everything and everyone else."

Andre scoffed. "I'd never do that."

"Good." She paused a moment. "I don't believe you."

He let a short laugh of disbelief. "What? What do you mean you don't believe me?"

"The last time I heard that from someone, I found myself dumped and alone Christmas Eve by the most self-centered boy I've ever met." She shrugged. "So I don't believe you. Are you busy tonight?"

Andre rolled his eyes. He glanced at the campus's clock tower. "Maybe we can meet up later, but right now I've got twenty minutes to make it clear across town. I'll call you when I get done." He opened the car door. "Wish me luck!"

* * *

He made it in fifteen.

Andre quickly took the steps two at a time as he went up three flights of stairs. He then walked down a long, narrow hallway. At the end of it was a set of large, glass double doors. In large letters were the words "Spin Records". Beneath it said "Don Hanson – CEO". He opened the door and found himself in a fairly large waiting area. He went straight to the secretary's desk to check in.

The woman behind the desk did not even look up as she spoke. "Name, please?" she asked in a bored tone.

"Andre Harris."

The woman sighed. She scanned the list in front of her before making a dark mark beside his name with her pen.

"Take a seat and Mr. Hanson will be with you shortly."

Andre forced a smile at the somewhat hostile woman. "Thanks."

He took a seat in one of the cushioned chairs. His eyes fell on the numerous records hanging on the wall. One in particular, an old Johnny Dodds record, made him smile.

"_Andre, don't you just love this song?" _

"_Yeah, Grandma," Andre agreed. He took a seat at the dining room table. "It's a great song."_

"_You know, your grandfather and I danced to this song on our first date. Johnny Dodds – such an extraordinary musician." She smiled at Andre. "That'll be you one day – a famous musician. Someone with a wonderful future."_

_He shook his head. "What I'm doing? It's just for fun, Grandma."_

_She set a full plate of dinner – mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and meatloaf – in front of him. "You'll see, Andre. Someday, you'll see. All of your dreams will come true."_

At the time, the idea of going professional seemed unrealistic. It all seemed like a dream that would never come true. As Andre waited for his name to be called, his smile widened as he realized his dream was finally coming true.

"Andre Harris. Pleasure to finally meet you. I'm Don Hanson."

A deep voice interrupted Andre's thoughts. He took a deep, shaky breath and released it slowly. This was it.

Andre stood and walked toward the very tall, clean-cut man who stood in front of him. He extended his hand. "Nice to meet you, too."

Don Hanson firmly shook Andre's hand before saying, "Please, follow me."

They went down a short hallway until they reached his office at the end. The two walked in and Don closed the door behind them.

"We'll get right down to business," Don said.

Andre took a seat across from Don, who was digging through his desk. He pulled out a file from his drawer. "When we last spoke, we were talking about signing on Friday. Is that right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now, what will happen after Friday is – " he broke off as a phone rang.

Andre scrambled to silence it. "I'm sorry, I thought I shut it off."

"No problem," Don replied with a smile. He leaned back in his chair. "Now, after Friday, we're going to jump right into the mist of things. You'll be meeting at the studio several times a week to start recording your first album. Things will get busy pretty fast. It won't be easy – I'll tell you that now." He leaned forward. "But I have faith in you." He closed one of the folders. "We'll sign Friday and record starting Monday. We'll see how it goes from there."

"Sounds good." Both stood.

"We'll be in touch."

* * *

Tori arrived at Actor's Equity Headquarters at noon. She marched inside, down the long hallway, and toward the large doors which, behind them, held the outcome of her future.

It was an exciting moment, yet terrifying. Most actors would kill for an opportunity like this – to be part of a Broadway play would be an amazing experience. This audition, though – this audition could make or break that chance.

For a moment she paused and took a deep breath. Her hands shook slightly as she reached for the door handle. Beck's voice echoed through her thoughts. _"This job is yours."_

"Let's hope you're right," she whispered.

Tori opened the door.

* * *

As Andre walked to his car, he looked through his missed calls. Two missed calls – one from each of his parents. Why would they be calling?

He called his mother first. She answered on the first ring.

"Andre! Andre, something terrible has happened – just tragic. It's horrible."

For a split second, a feeling of dread overcame him. His mother was never one to be overly dramatic; something serious had to have happened. He sighed and rubbed his eyes wearily. "Calm down, calm down, Mom," he said. "What happened?"

She mumbled a reply into the phone. "I can't understand you," he said. "What happened?"

There was more mumbling and noise as the phone was handed off. His father took the phone. "Your grandmother had a heart attack this afternoon." He sighed heavily. "She…she didn't make it."

* * *

Tori arrived home late that afternoon. She took off her coat and hung it up before going to the kitchen.

"Beck?" she called. There was no answer. He must be at work, she thought.

She decided to prepare dinner. She washed her hands quickly then pulled one of the pans from beneath the counter. She filled it half full of water then put it on the stove to boil.

As she waited, she opened the spaghetti then cut up lettuce and tomatoes for salad. She had just dumped the long noodles into the water when the front door opened and Beck walked in.

"Tori?"

"In the kitchen," she answered. She dumped the shreds of lettuce into a bowl.

Beck came up behind her. "Hey, beautiful."

She turned and smiled softly at him. "Hey, babe." She gave him a quick kiss.

"Special occasion?" he inquired.

She shook her head. "Just because," she replied. She turned back to the food. "How was work?"

He shrugged. "The usual. Careless extras, clumsy costars…that movie is just pure disaster, that's all there is to it."

"That's too bad." Tori removed the spaghetti from the stove and drained the water. "Things will get better, trust me."

"I hope you're right. Can I help you?"

"Will you please set the table?"

"Sure."

Beck took two plates from the cabinet then two sets of silverware. "I made you an appointment with Dr. Rolland. He's a highly recommended therapist just a few miles away."

Tori made a face. "Are you sure this will help?" she asked.

"Of course not. But it's worth a try." Beck walked to the counter and reached past her to get two cups from the cabinet.

She firmly placed her hands on her hips. "And if it doesn't work we're out a hundred dollars."

"And if it does, you'll get rid of a lot of stress in your life."

"And if it doesn't…"

"Tori." He sighed heavily. "You promised you'd keep an open mind about this."

"I know." She took the cups from Beck's hands and filled them with water. "When is my appointment?"

"Thursday at three. Will that work with your schedule?"

"Yeah, it should." She placed the two cups on the table. "Dinner is ready."

For the most part, they ate in silence. The only sound in the small kitchen was the _tick, tick, tick_ of the clock and the soft sound of their silverware clattering against the glass plates.

Suddenly, Beck's phone rang, breaking through the tension in the room. He glanced at the caller ID. "I'll be right back," he said.

He stood and went down the hallway, muttering under his breath something about unknown callers. He waited until he was in the bedroom to answer. "Hello?"

"Hello, Beckett."

He was quiet a moment, taken aback at the voice. "Jade?"

"Yeah. Look, we need to talk."

He ran a hand through his hair. "Can I call you back in a few minutes? I'm actually in the middle of – "

"It's important," she interrupted. "Andre's grandmother died this afternoon."

Beck's heart began to race. _Dead?_ She couldn't be…she was just fine days before. If she was sick, Andre would have told him. How could she have died so suddenly?

"That's terrible," he said aloud. "How is Andre?"

"Not good." Jade sighed. "He skipped class today, and his roommate said he hasn't left his room – or even gotten out of bed – since he got that phone call."

"Not even for meals?"

"Not even for meals," Jade confirmed. "I know that the two of you talk often, so I thought maybe if you talked to him, he'd actually listen to you. Maybe you can talk some sense into him?"

"Maybe. I'll call him," Beck said.

"Thanks. If you can get him up and out of bed, that'd be great. He's got a lot to lose here, with this record deal and all."

"I'll do my best," Beck promised. He smiled. "Although, if _you_ couldn't get him out of bed…"

"No one can," she finished. She gave a short laugh. "And I've definitely done my share to get him out of that dorm room."

Beck glanced at the clock. "I'm going to change that right now."

"Call me back when you're done."

* * *

Andre lay in his bottom-bunk bed staring aimlessly at the bed above him. He tried to concentrate on other things – the fine lines in the wooden bunk, the faded white sheets, or even his roommate's comforter hanging over the edge of the bed – a comforter that had been "made with love" by his mother.

Nothing seemed to distract him.

She was gone, lost to a heart attack. His grandmother, whom he had spent years helping with one problem or another, was gone.

He did not go to class that afternoon – he could barely get out of bed, let alone make himself walk to the other side of the campus for a class he knew he would not be able to concentrate in. Instead, he buried himself under his sheets, pulling them up over his head as he waited for the pain to go away.

* * *

When Jade walked into her Drama class Thursday afternoon, she was only half surprised to find Andre's chair empty.

She sighed and stood there a moment, her thoughts spinning.

Earlier that afternoon, Jade had found Andre and tried to coerce him into going to class, but it was useless. His roommate then explained what exactly had been going on. It was then that she realized how serious the situation was.

Andre had not been out of his room in days. His grandmother's funeral was on Friday. He had been forced to choose between his career and his family, and obviously chose the latter, causing the record deal to slide by. His mood seemed to worsen. He skipped classes and rarely ate the food his roommate brought him.

Something had to change.

Instead of taking a seat in her usual place, Jade turned around and left the classroom.

She was on a mission to help a friend in need.


	3. Chapter 3

Hello, all! Sorry for the long wait. Next chapter's up. Enjoy!

* * *

"Andre Harris!" Jade stalked down the long hallway, passing room after room. Doors were opening and curious faces were poking out. Jade paused at the end of the hallway. "Does anyone know where Andre Harris is?"

"His room's flooded from last night's storm – leak in the roof or something – so he's staying with a friend. Room 224," a boy replied.

"Thanks."

Jade turned on her heels and went around the corner. The sound of her high heels echoed down the hallway. _Click, click, click. _She took the stairs two at a time before walking down yet another long hallway. She scanned the room numbers. 220…222...224. Perfect. She roughly pushed the door open.

"Hey!" Andre cried. Through the darkness of the room, Jade made out his silhouette figure as it slowly sat up in the bed. "Who's there?"

"Me." Jade turned on the light.

Andre winced instinctively at its brightness. He blinked a few times, adjusting to the light, before saying, "Oh. Hey, Jade. I didn't hear you knock."

"I didn't." She stepped into the room. "Get up. Either I can force you out or you can get out willingly, but we're going out tonight."

He sighed and buried himself deep under the covers again. "What's the point?" he mumbled. "I've already lost everything. My Grandma is dead, my career is gone, and – there's just no reason to get up. Ever."

She sighed. "So you're just going to lay here in this pathetic excuse of a dorm room for the rest of your life?"

"That's the plan."

She scoffed. "Um…no." She raised her voice slightly. "Guys, come in!"

Andre peered out from beneath the covers. Robbie and Cat entered the room. He sat up again. "Hey, guys. What are you doing here?"

"We're here to cheer you up!" Cat said. "We wanted to surprise you." She walked toward the bed and wrapped her arms around him in a quick hug. "Are you surprised?"

"Definitely." Andre crawled out of bed. "When did you two get here?"

Robbie glanced at his watch. "About…ten minutes ago. We dropped our luggage off then came here." He nodded toward the door. "Come on, come on. We need to get to the restaurant before they get busy."

Andre hesitated. "I don't know..."

"Come on. It'll be fun," Cat said.

Andre sighed. He looked at the others and found himself looking into anxious eyes. He finally gave them a weak smile. "Alright." He pulled on his shoes. "Where are we going?" he asked.

"Only the best place in the U.S. of A," Cat said. She opened the door.

"And that would be…"

"McDonalds."

* * *

The group went through the drive-thru. They loaded up on fries, hamburgers, and soda before stopping by the college convenient store, where they bought enough sweets to get sick off of.

They then claimed one of the empty rec rooms, where they ate and played ping-pong, pool, air hockey, and foosball. After one particularly violent game of ping-pong, the group decided on settling down with a few card games.

"Robbie, do I even want to know why you have this game?" Jade asked.

Robbie shuffled the cards. "It's a classic," he answered with a shrug.

"It's Old Maid," Jade replied dryly.

Robbie began to pass out cards.

"So how's life been?" Andre asked the group at large.

"Great," Cat replied. "Except Robbie wouldn't go to the post-finals week party with me."

"I already told you I'm not going to any more parties," he retorted.

"You're just upset because someone spiked your drink last time and you woke up the next morning in a dress and way too much makeup."

Jade laid down a pair of cards. "Did you take pictures?" she asked casually.

"Jade…" Robbie groaned.

She shrugged. "Just asking. It would make an amazing Christmas card."

Cat's eyes widened. "Ooh, and guess what," she said excitedly. "I just got a job through the school. I'll be in charge of doing make-up for all of the shows at the college!"

"Make-up?" Jade rolled her eyes. "Do you remember what happened the last time you experimented with make-up?"

"That was over two years ago," Cat responded. "Have a little faith." She gasped. "Ooh, I got my last pair! I win!"

"No way." Robbie glanced at her cards. "You cheated."

"Did not. I won. See?" She shoved her cards toward him.

Jade studied the cards. She picked up one of the cards. "That's not a pair. Someone turned that six into an eight." She flicked the card across the room. "Nice try."

"Alright, new game," Andre said. He opened a deck of playing cards. "This is called Egyptian Rat Screw. Do you know how to play?"

"Of course we know how to play. We play it all the time in the dorms," Robbie replied.

"Good. Let's play."

As Andre shuffled and distributed the cards and Jade and Cat removed their jewelry – much to Jade's reluctance – Robbie cleared his throat. "Hey, has anyone talked to Beck and Tori lately?"

"Why would anyone talk to _them?"_ Jade asked. She straightened her cards into a neat pile.

"I have," Andre replied as he sent a warning look toward Jade. "I guess they're going through a tough time right now. Tori was diagnosed with PTSD – "

"What's that?" Cat asked.

"Post traumatic stress disorder. The one-year anniversary of the kidnapping is coming up, which we think is why she's been having nightmares."

He laid down a card from his pile. "But on the bright side, Beck just got the leading role in _Stutter Island_, a new comedy movie coming out soon, and Tori just finished _Interview With Death_, which was put on through their school. Someone who has major connections with someone on Broadway managed to get her an audition for the new Broadway show _Beautiful Deceit._"

"Sounds like things aren't _that_ bad there," Robbie commented.

Andre shrugged. "I guess not. PTSD is really hard to live with, though. Their careers may seem to be taking off, but just dealing with that one disorder can be pure hell for both of them."

"She deserves it," Jade muttered.

"That's completely uncalled – ouch!" Robbie exclaimed. He pulled away from the pile of cards in the center of the table. He clutched his hand tightly. "I thought we agreed no jewelry!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I must've forgotten," Jade replied with false innocence.

Andre shook his head. "Jade, take your ring off." He laid a card down, continuing the game. "Oh, and apparently Beck has this plan to propose to Tori – "

"He's proposing?" Jade laid her pile of cards down with more force than necessary. "They haven't even been dating a year."

Andre shrugged. "That's none of my business," he said. "Anyway, he wants us all to fly down and be there for it. Maybe help him out? What do you say?"

"When would it be?" Cat asked.

"He wants to propose sometime over Christmas break, so…sometime within the next two weeks."

Robbie and Cat exchanged glances. Cat nodded in silent agreement. Robbie, appointed spokesperson, said, "We're in."

"Great. Jade?"

Jade, who had been quietly studying her nails and pointedly avoiding their gazes, finally looked up. "What?"

"Are you in?"

She sighed. "As much as I would _love_ to see my ex-boyfriend propose to the sl – "

"Are you in or not?"

She hesitated.

"Free vacation," Andre prompted. "Beck's paying for everything."

She sighed. "Fine." She pushed her cards away. "But I still don't like it."

"Great, and you don't have to." Andre pulled out his cell phone.

"Are you calling Beck? Put it on speaker," Cat said. "I want to say hi."

The phone rang once. Twice. Finally, an answer. "Hello?"

"Hey, Beck. It's Andre."

"And Cat!"

"And Jade and Robbie," Andre finished. "Anyway, good news…"

* * *

The following week, Tori began therapy.

At ten to three, she pulled up outside a small white building. With its old exterior and antique-looking wooden door, it looked like anything but a therapist's office. Nonetheless, she parked the car before walking in.

She was greeted by a secretary with a kind smile, and for the first time, Tori began to think that everything may be alright after all.

"Hi, I'm Victoria Vega. I have an appointment at three."

The woman turned to her computer. She pushed several keys before scanning a list of patients. "Right. I'll tell Dr. Rolland you're here."

"Thanks." Tori took a seat in one of the chairs.

The room was quiet for the most part. The only noise was the occasional sound of the keyboard as the secretary worked. Tori sighed and leaned back, sinking into the soft cushion of the chair. Suddenly, her cell phone vibrated. She glanced at it. Text message from Beck.

_Thinking of you. Love you. _

Tori smiled softly. She was in the process of replying to the message when a man's voice said, "Tori Vega?"

She looked up as a middle-aged man with graying hair and baby-blue eyes stepped out of his office and into the waiting room. Her smile slowly faded.

_"You – shut your mouth before I shut it for you. You don't need to be drawing attention to yourself."_

"_Just kill her now. We already have one murder hanging over our heads; what's one more?"_

"Ms. Vega?"

She shook her head slowly, clearing her thoughts. She met his expectant gaze.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

She stood reluctantly. She forced herself to smile and reply, "Absolutely," though the wretched feeling in the pit of her stomach told her otherwise.

* * *

"I can't go back there." Tori sank into one of the kitchen chairs. "I just can't."

Beck sighed. He set a steaming mug of coffee in front of Tori, which she took gratefully. "It couldn't have been that bad," he said.

She gave a short laugh before taking a sip of her drink. "No. No, no, no, you don't understand. Every time I even look into his eyes I see _them_. It's like living through...everything...all over again."

Beck narrowed his eyes as he slid into the chair across from her. "Look, babe, I love you and I want to believe you, but I know how you can get sometimes. Are you sure you're not just being closed-minded?"

She scoffed and set down her drink. "I'm not being closed-minded."

"You're just looking for a reason to get out of this." He shrugged. "You don't want to go, so you're making something out of nothing to get out of it."

She stood. "Say what you want, but I can tell you right now nothing is going to get done as long as that man is my therapist." She walked out of the kitchen, picking up her keys along the way.

He rolled his eyes and turned in his chair. "Where are you going? It's almost midnight."

"Out." She stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her.


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks goes to clumsy20 for her help on this.

Enjoy.

* * *

Tisch School of the Arts had always been a place of comfort. It was a place that, over time, had felt like a second home. The theatre was no exception.

The theatre was, of course, closed for the night. Nonetheless, Tori knew one way in that very few people knew about.

Tori and a majority of the cast and crew had come to know every nook and cranny of the theatre. So when Tori tried the front entrance and found it locked, she immediately crept around to the back of the building.

"Making something out of nothing," she muttered to herself. "Yeah, right."

She pushed her way through the shrubs until she found one window in particular that she knew had a broken lock. It was above the door and not necessarily the easiest to get to, but it did the trick.

She jumped up and grasped the windowsill. Her right hand slipped and she struggled to hang on, but finally regained her grasp. She pulled herself up and pushed hard on the window until it gave and swung open. She crawled through and braced herself as she fell several feet to the floor in the lobby with a soft grunt_._

The entire building was dark. She felt her way to the entrance of the theatre itself and walked in.

The set for _Interview With Death_ had not been taken down yet. The entire stage was in the form of an old, Victorian-style home. She walked into the living room, then toward the stairs. She ran a hand lightly over the handrail as she took several steps up before pausing at the top. She sighed.

"Maybe Beck is right," she said softly to herself. "Maybe…maybe I _am_ making something out of nothing." She took a seat on the step and buried her face in her hands, thoughts whirling.

"_We should have just killed her right away. Put everything behind us. It isn't worth the trouble."_

_Sikowitz sighed. "Killing her won't bring in the money." He shoved a set of keys into the other man's hands. "We're moving again. Drug her and load her up."_

"_Where are we going?"_

"_Down south." A door slammed shut. "We need to get as far away from here as possible."_

"_But if we head south, how will – "_

"_Just listen," Sikowitz snapped. Through the darkness and from her position in a corner of the room, Tori heard a heavy sigh. "We're leaving in ten. Get ready."_

She shook her head. _Go away. Please, God, just make it go away._

Suddenly, a vicious wave of nausea overcame her, followed by dizziness. She reached out and grabbed the railing. She closed her eyes, willing the world to stop spinning.

_Wonderful,_ she thought. _All I need now is to get sick._

Suddenly, she heard a dull thud. She froze. Who could possibly be in the theatre? Footsteps echoed through the building as the intruder approached.

She desperately began thinking of a cover. She was locked in, or the window was already open…or maybe…

"There you are." She turned at the sound of a familiar voice. Beck was standing at the bottom of the staircase.

"Hey," she said. She pushed a strand of hair out of her face. "How did you know I was here?"

He slowly made his way up the steps. "Well, it wasn't easy," he admitted. "NYC is a pretty large city. I was circling the campus for about the fifth time, trying to decide where you would go, when Andre called. He suggested here."

She smiled. "So you're in New York and you couldn't find me, but someone in California did in the time span of one phone call?"

"Yeah. Sad, isn't it? May I?" he asked, nodding toward the empty space beside her. She nodded and he took a seat. He hesitated a moment before resting his hand on hers. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she said softly while nodding. She sighed and looked at him. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten so angry. I've just been really stressed lately, and I guess it's finally catching up to me." She winced as another sickening feeling arose in the pit of her belly. "And I think I'm coming down with something. My stomach is killing me."

Beck looked at her worriedly. "Do you want to go back? If you're sick…"

Tori shook her head. "Just a few more minutes, then we can leave," she said.

She moved closer to Beck. He put his arm around her and she rested her head against his shoulder.

"I've been thinking, and I've decided…if you really think this will help, I'll go back to therapy."

He nodded once. "Thank you," he said. "And I do think it will help."

Silence fell between the two. Outside, thunder rumbled, breaking through the silence of the night. Rain drops fell to the ground and slapped against the window softly.

Tori sighed. "It's always raining," she said. "NYC is going to be flooded out before long."

Beck smiled. He took her hand gently. "At least it isn't freezing over. Ice can be a killer on the roads." He cleared his throat. "Just out of curiosity, out of all of the places you could possibly go, why would you choose the college theatre?"

She shrugged. "It just seems…peaceful, familiar. I…I can't really explain it, but it just seemed like a good place to go."

"You know what sounds good right now?"

"Hm?"

He kissed her gently. "Sleep. It's almost two."

She smiled. "Sleep does sound pretty good."

Beck stood then offered his hand to her. He pulled her up and the two brushed themselves off. "We can talk about this more in the morning." He took her hand. "Ready?" Beck asked.

Tori nodded. "Let's go."

* * *

One week later, Andre, Jade, Robbie, and Cat left for New York City.

"Ugh, this line is frustrating," Robbie groaned. "Why is the airport so busy? It's past midnight."

Andre shrugged. "There are a lot of night people, I guess."

"Isn't there a faster way to get through?" Jade asked.

Andre shifted his luggage to his left shoulder, relieving the heavy weight temporarily from his right. "They have to check all of the luggage, run everyone through security…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Jade said dismissively. "I just wish they'd hurry along. Our flight leaves in _five minutes._"

"I know. Just chill." Andre peered around the line of people in front of them. "I think we're almost to the front."

And they were. Finally, exactly four minutes later, the group found themselves sprinting toward their terminal.

"How much time do we have?" Cat asked.

Robbie glanced at his watch. "Um…fifty-two seconds!"

"Run faster!" Andre shouted. The group quickened their pace.

"If you hadn't packed so much, _Robbie Shapiro,_ we may actually be on time," Jade snapped.

"Yeah, well, maybe you should have – "

"Twenty seconds!" Andre called.

"Quit counting down! You're making me nervous!" Cat cried.

"I see it! We're almost there!"

Andre snuck a glance at the clock. Ten seconds.

Suddenly, Robbie tripped. His carryon luggage slid across the floor, stopping several feet away.

"Robbie, you're so clumsy." Jade snatched up the luggage while Andre helped Robbie up. Jade thrust the bag into Robbie's hands. "Now get. We're almost there." They continued to run.

_Three._

Past the lost luggage.

_Two._

Past the elderly couple fighting in the middle of the airport.

_One._

They stopped, gasping for air, in front of the flight attendant, who they noticed was looking at them very oddly. "I see someone's running a little late," she said dryly.

Jade glared. "Never speak of it." She handed the woman their tickets. "There. Can we go now?"

"Of course," the flight attendant smiled, though it seemed forced. She stepped aside. "Welcome aboard."

* * *

Beck awoke in the middle of the night to find himself alone. Confused, he slowly sat up in bed. "Tori?" he called out, but received no answer.

He sighed and wearily rubbed his eyes before getting out of bed. He left the bedroom and turned the corner before starting down the hallway. He stopped at the end of it, just outside the restroom door.

The door was cracked open, releasing a sliver of light through the opening. Through the door, he could hear the awful sound of vomiting. Beck winced. A deep sense of sympathy for his girlfriend overcame him.

He lifted his hand and knocked on the door. He heard the sound of the toilet flushing, followed by the sound of running water. A moment later, all fell quiet, and Tori softly said, "Come in." Beck pushed the door open carefully.

Tori was sitting cross-legged on the cold tile. Her hair hung loosely around her, covering part of her pale white face. She pushed a strand of hair back behind her ear before looking up at him and offering a weak smile.

"Hey," she said. "I'm sorry if I woke you up."

"It's no problem." He took a seat beside her. "Are you alright?"

She shrugged. "I've been better," she replied.

He sighed and wrapped his arm around her waist. "You're just falling apart, aren't you?" He gave her a quick kiss. "It's been a week. You should go to the doctor before this gets any worse."

She shook her head. "I'm fi – "

But she couldn't finish the sentence. She broke off as the nausea returned. Beck held her hair back gently as she quickly ducked her head low over the toilet. She gagged, but nothing came up. There was nothing left.

It was several minutes before she was able to fully regain her composure. She sighed, releasing a shaky breath, before leaning back against Beck's chest. She closed her eyes. "Maybe…seeing a doctor isn't such a bad idea after all."

Despite everything, Beck smiled.

"You can go back to bed," she said. She shifted positions, wincing as she stretched her aching limbs. "Don't you have to get up early?"

"So do you," he pointed out.

"Yeah, well…I've grown accustomed to lack of sleep over the past several weeks."

He stood up. "Alright. But if you're not back in bed within…five minutes, I'm coming back."

"Make it ten and we have a deal," she said.

"Fine." He squeezed her hand gently. "I love you."

"Love you, too. Good night."

* * *

By eight-thirty the next morning, Andre, Jade, Robbie, and Cat were stumbling off of the plane, luggage in tow, as they immediately began searching for a cab.

"Well, catching a ride shouldn't be too hard, anyway," Cat said.

"I don't know," Jade said. "We _do_ have Robbie with us, afterall."

Robbie ignored her, but Jade didn't miss the glare thrown her way.

"Hey, this one looks empty," Cat said. "Taxi!"

The cab came to a sudden halt. The four friends piled inside.

"Where to?" the cabbie asked from the front seat.

"Oooh, we should go to Time Square!" Cat said. "I've heard it's amazing down there."

Jade sighed as she shifted in her seat, pressing herself closer to the door and further from the others. "Isn't it better to go there at night?" she asked.

Robbie shrugged. "We don't have anything else to do," he said.

"Alright." Andre turned back to the driver. "Time Square, please."

* * *

That afternoon, as Tori prepared for her therapy session for that afternoon, Beck called Andre to discuss plans.

"So you all made it alright?"

"Yep. All in one piece." Andre shifted the phone, cradling it between his shoulder and his ear as he pushed open their hotel room door. He held it open with his foot as Robbie entered first, trailing a majority of their luggage behind him.

"You could help!" Robbie hissed.

"On the phone," Andre mouthed back. Robbie shook his head before dropping the luggage and taking a seat on the bed.

"So what's the plan?" he asked.

"I can't discuss much right now," Beck replied. "Tori's just in the other room. But maybe you can come over tomorrow around eight. Tori has an appointment across town, so she'll be gone a while."

"Alright. I'll tell – "

"Got to go." The conversation ended abruptly as Beck ended the call. Andre shook his head and walked toward the remaining empty bed.

"New York City at its finest." Andre collapsed on the hotel bed, completely sprawled out. "Finally. It feels great to just relax."

"I know." Robbie sighed. "When are we going to Beck and Tori's place?"

"Tomorrow morning. Beck said she has a doctor's appointment at eight on the other side of town, so we'll show up around then."

"A doctor's appointment?" Robbie turned over in bed and looked at Andre curiously. "For what?"

Andre shrugged. "She just has an upset stomach. It's probably nothing serious."

Suddenly, someone pounded on the door. Andre groaned as he stood. "Who could that possibly be?"

He walked to the door and swung it open. Jade stood in the doorway. "Hey, Jade, what are – "

"I refuse to share a room with her," Jade snapped.

Andre rubbed his eyes wearily. "What's wrong now?"

"She hit me!" Cat cried.

"Jade, what did I tell you about hitting?" Andre asked.

Jade sighed. "Hitting is wrong and hurtful."

"And…"

She rolled her eyes. "And I shouldn't do it."

"Good." He started to close the door. "Work it out."

"But – "

He closed the door, locking it behind him.

"Enjoy your sleep tonight!" Jade yelled. "I'm sure I won't!"

Andre shook his head and exchanged looks with Robbie. "That girl has issues," Robbie said.

Andre scoffed and walked toward the bed. "Which one?"

Through the paper-thin walls, Andre and Robbie heard shouting, followed by the sound of breaking glass.

It was going to be a long night.


	5. Chapter 5

Next chapter's up! Enjoy!

* * *

Andre and Robbie awoke to a loud _bang! Bang! Bang!_ A door slammed shut and soon after, arguing began.

Robbie groaned and buried himself deeper under the covers. "I want to sleep," he groaned. "Why can't they just get along for once?"

"It isn't possible," Andre mumbled from beneath the sheets. He rolled over and ran a hand over his face before looking at the clock. His eyes widened.

"Robbie, we're late." He pushed the sheets back and quickly got out of bed. "It's eight thirty. We're late."

"What? I thought you asked for a wakeup call," Robbie said.

Andre quickly pulled on his clothes. "I did, but they must have forgotten." He put on his shoes before reaching for the room key. "Let's go."

* * *

Tori took a seat on the firm bed in the doctor's office. Its paper covering crinkled beneath her. She sighed and glanced at the clock. The doctor was late – as usual. She was anxious for her test results.

The room was much too quiet and the odor of sterilizer was overwhelming. She wrinkled her nose, trying to block out the smell, but it was useless. She glanced around the room, looking for some sort of distraction as she waited.

Suddenly, her phone rang. She rolled her eyes and picked her purse up from the floor. She was still digging for the phone when the door opened and the doctor walked in.

"Ms. Vega." The older man closed the door quietly. "How are you this morning?"

Tori pushed her purse aside. Her phone fell silent. She smiled at the doctor. "Better than I have been," she answered.

"Good to hear." He unfolded his eyeglasses and carefully put them on before opening her medical folder. "Well, you'll be glad to know we've found the source of your nausea, and it's nothing to be worried about."

She sighed in relief. "Great. Does that mean you know how to get rid of it?"

He looked her in the eyes and smiled, revealing dimples within his prematurely wrinkling features. "Not exactly."

* * *

"Alright. So you made the reservation for tonight, right?"

Beck nodded. "Seven o'clock."

"And what are we supposed to do?" Jade asked.

Beck ran a hand through his hair. "You're going to stay here," he said. "I'll take Tori out tonight. When we get home – "

"Someone's coming!" Cat hissed. The group froze. The faint sound of someone's high heels quickly approaching could be heard outside.

"That's can't be her. She had an appointment across town. She can't be home yet," Beck muttered.

Andre's eyes widened. "What do we do?"

"Everyone, hide. _Now,"_ Beck said. The group scattered around the small apartment.

Suddenly, someone knocked softly on the front door, and Beck started toward it. Behind him, a door closed softly.

He paused, one hand on the doorknob, as he released a nervous breath. He opened the door slowly, hoping that everyone was well out of sight.

Tori stood in front of him, completely drenched. Her clothes clung to her tightly, as did her matted hair. Yet, for the first time, she was smiling radiantly. "Hey, what happened? Where's your key?" He raised his eyebrows. "And your umbrella?"

"I accidentally left both of them here," she said dismissively. She entered, shutting the door behind her. "I have such exciting news. The casting director of _Beautiful Deceit _called. I got the part!"

"That's great!" Beck swept her into his arms and kissed her deeply. "Baby, that's wonderful. I'm so happy for you."

"We should celebrate," she said. She smiled coyly and ran her hand lightly down his chest. "Maybe you can help me out of these clothes, to start."

Beck's eyes closed. _Any other time,_ he thought. He shook his head and cleared his throat. "As…_lovely…_as that sounds, I have a better idea."

She unwrapped herself from his arms. "Oh? And what's that?"

"Dinner. Just the two of us, later tonight." He glanced at the clock. "I'll make reservations, if that's alright with you."

"Sounds good. I'll get ready." She disappeared down the hallway and into the bathroom.

As soon as the door locked behind her, the hidden four friends rushed from their hiding places to the living room.

"Well, that was _fun,_" Robbie said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Beck sighed. "I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting her to come home so soon."

"'Maybe you can help me out of these clothes,'" Jade mimicked. "I can't believe I was just hiding under the place where you and her…" she broke off and shivered. "It's disgusting."

Beck glared as he pushed past the group. "I need to make another phone call." He picked up the phone. "You guys should probably get before she comes out."

"Alright. We'll see you tonight," Andre said.

Beck nodded. "I'll keep a key just above the door so you can set up while we're out," he replied.

"Sounds good." Andre opened the door. "See you then."

* * *

"Tori, are you ready? We're going to be late."

"Just a minute," she called from the bedroom. "I'm almost done."

Beck glanced at the clock anxiously. He released a shaky breath. _Everything will be fine,_ he assured himself.

He reached into his suit pocket, checking and double-checking for the small, velvet box. Still there.

Suddenly, the bedroom door shut. Beck turned just as Tori came into the room. His breath caught.

She looked beautiful in her knee length white dress. Her shoes, also white, gave her at least another two inches in height. Her hair fell loosely around her in large curls.

"Since you won't tell me where we're going, I wasn't sure what to wear." She stepped toward Beck. "Will this work?"

"Absolutely." He pulled her close then kissed her. "You look amazing."

"Thanks." She took his hand. "Ready?"

He nodded. He led her to his truck, all the while silently praying everything would turn out alright.

* * *

"I can't believe you talked me into this." Jade sighed as she fingered one of the long stemmed red roses. "You know, he never did any of this for _me_ when _we_ were dating."

"He also never proposed to you," Robbie said.

"And he didn't live in this amazing apartment," Andre said.

Jade looked at him curiously. "What does that have to do with anything?"

He shrugged. "Nothing. I just thought I'd point out that this apartment is truly amazing. I mean, look at it. You can see all of the lights across New York City…"

"And it's walking distance from basically any shop or restaurant you could possibly want," Cat added.

"And nice, shiny marble in the kitchen…"

"Alright, alright. So they have a nice apartment," Jade snapped. She took a seat on the white couch, sinking deep into its suede cushions. "When are they supposed to be coming back? They've been gone almost two hours."

"Beck texted a few minutes ago. They're on their way back." Andre placed his phone back in his pocket. "We should have about ten minutes."

Suddenly, they heard a muffled yet familiar voice. "Dinner was great. I love their food. But I still can't believe you managed to get a reservation. That place is usually impossible to get into."

"What can I say? I'm just that good."

Jade rolled her eyes. "She's turned him into some hopeless romantic. Unbelievable."

"Forget that. We have to hide." Andre grabbed his portable keyboard and ducked behind the kitchen counter. Robbie and Cat hid behind the couch while Jade grudgingly hid behind a cushioned chair.

"What happened to ten minutes?" Robbie hissed.

Andre shrugged. "Just…everyone shut up and stay hidden." Then, they waited.

A moment later, a key turned in the door. Tori's laughter filled the apartment as the young couple stumbled inside. Beck closed the door quietly behind him.

"So you said you had a surprise?" she asked.

"Yeah." His smile widened. "Are you ready for it?"

"Absolutely," she replied.

Beck turned on the light switch, flooding the room with light. At that moment, the four friends emerged from hiding.

"Surprise!" they yelled.

Tori's eyes widened. "What – what's going on? Where did you guys come from?"

Andre grinned. "We flew in yesterday." He wrapped his arms around her in a hug. "Good to see you. It's been a while."

"Tori! My turn!" Cat squealed. Andre stepped back, allowing Cat into the embrace. "Group hug!"

"No, no, no, please – aah!" Tori managed to glance at Beck, who stood near the door, arms crossed, leaning against the doorframe, grinning. "You're just loving this, aren't you?"

"Yes. Yes, I am." He cleared his throat. "Alright, guys. Let her breathe."

The group dispersed. Tori sighed heavily before taking a seat on the couch. "So what are you guys doing here? Not that I'm not happy to see you," she added quickly. "When Beck said he had a surprise, I wasn't expecting _this."_

"Let's just say…we're doing a little favor," Andre replied.

"I'll be outside," Jade said. She picked up her coat. "Come get me when it's over." Ignoring the group's odd looks, she left the apartment, slamming the door behind her.

Andre shook his head. He retrieved his keyboard from behind the couch and took a seat across from Tori in one of the empty chairs. He caught Beck's eye. Beck nodded slightly, and Andre began to play. The tune of _Finally Falling_ filled the air.

Beck moved from his position at the door and knelt on one knee in front of Tori.

"Oh, God, I know what's coming," Tori said.

Beck smiled. He took her hand gently. "Tori – "

"I will kill you all after this," she said.

Beck exhaled a laugh. "Way to break the mood, babe."

"Sorry. Continue."

He took a deep breath. "The moment you walked into my life, everything was turned upside down. I went from being an ordinary student going to a not-so-ordinary school to someone who finally found a purpose in life."

She smiled. With her free hand, she wiped at her tear-filled eyes. She felt Beck's grip tighten slightly as he continued.

"Tori Vega, I love you, and I want to spend the rest of our lives together." He removed the small box from his pocket and opened it, revealing a sparkling diamond ring. He looked into her eyes as he asked, "Will you marry me?"

Her smile widened, and Beck's heart melted at the sight. He held his breath in anticipation.

"Yes. Yes, absolutely," she answered immediately.

A feeling of relief and joy rushed through Beck all at once. He released his breath in heavy relief as he removed the ring from its box.

Tori quickly moved her promise ring from her left hand to her right before allowing Beck to slip on the engagement ring. He took her in his arms and kissed her passionately. Around them, their friends were clapping, but nothing else seemed to exist right then. Nothing else mattered.

They parted a long moment later, breathless. Beck rested his hand gently on Tori's cheek. "I love you."

"I love you, too. So much," she replied softly.

Suddenly, a door slammed, breaking the silence. Every gaze went to the door. Jade walked in, followed by Andre. "And there's the happy couple now." She actually managed a smile that almost – just almost – seemed genuine. "Congrats, you two."

Beck took a seat beside Tori and put his arm around her. She leaned into his embrace. "Thanks," he said. "Thanks, all of you, for everything."

"Anytime," Andre said. He glanced at the clock. "Although right now, I think I need some sleep. It's getting late."

"Agreed." Jade nodded toward the door. "Let's go."

"Hey, Tori, maybe we can go shopping tomorrow! You know, for the wedding," Cat said excitedly.

"Tomorrow?" Tori's gaze turned sympathetic. "I have to meet with my therapist tomorrow. He changed the time from three to noon, so…"

"How about after?"

She sighed. She met Cat's eyes, fully prepared to turn her down, but something changed her mind. She smiled at the friend she hadn't seen in months and replied, "Sounds good. I'll call you when I get out."

"Yay!" Cat hugged her. "Looking forward to it." Her eyes lit up. "Oooh, maybe Jade can go, too. It can be a girl's day out!"

Jade rolled her eyes as she started toward the door. "Girl's day out, huh?" She sighed. "Lovely."

* * *

Tori awoke early the next morning, beating the alarm by at least an hour. She sighed. Unable to fall asleep, she lay in bed staring up at the ceiling, allowing her thoughts to wonder. Thoughts of her dreaded therapy session filled her mind, making her restless.

She had been going to therapy three times a week for nearly two weeks now, and she had yet to adjust to the similarities between her former captors and her therapist. Her nightmares had worsened, though she wouldn't admit it to anyone else. Despite Beck's constant assurance, she wasn't sure she would be able to put up with it much longer.

Suddenly, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her close. Beck nuzzled her neck. "Go back to sleep, babe," he murmured.

"Can't sleep," she mumbled. She turned over so she was facing him. "Too much on my mind."

Beck sighed. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head slowly. Wordlessly, she closed her mouth over his in a passionate kiss.

He closed his eyes, completely losing himself in the kiss and in her. When they finally parted several moments later, it was reluctantly. She smiled softly back at him. "Talking is overrated."

His lips slowly quirked into a smile. He returned her kiss. "Yes, it is."

She caressed his cheek, pushing a lock of dark hair out of his eyes. She took a shaky breath, and for a moment considered spilling everything to him. Instead, last minute, she decided against it. She smiled softly instead and asked, "Love me?"

He smiled and held her closer. "Always."

* * *

Hours later, Tori was sitting in the therapist's waiting room, alone. The secretary had left temporarily to run an errand, leaving the room eerily quiet.

_You can do this. You can get through this, and everything will be alright._

"Ms. Vega?"

_Just keep an open mind._ She stood and turned toward the therapist. He led her to a back room, allowing her to enter first before closing the door softly behind him. He smiled kindly at her. "How are you this afternoon?"

The words that started it all.

"_Hello, my dear. And how are you this evening?"_

_Tori glared at the man in front of her. He smiled in response. "Now, that's no way to treat the man providing you food, now, is it?" He dropped a fast food bag in front of her. "Now eat up before I change my mind."_

"Ms. Vega?"

"_Just let me go and you won't have to deal with me – or this – anymore. Stop while you're still ahead. The longer you keep me, the higher your risk of getting caught is."_

"_Really." Her captor stepped forward. He produced a gun from his back pocket. "Well, I can solve that little problem right now, can't I?"_

_Go away, go away, go away!_ She wanted to scream, kick, fight, do _something_.

"Ms. Vega, are you alright?"

Tori shook her head. She stood quickly. "I'm – I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, but I have to go."

And without another word, she picked up her coat and her purse and walked out, never once looking back.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Alice's Tea Cup (a nonfictional cake decorating store in NYC), Victorious, or any nonfictional shops or locations used in the story.

Enjoy.

* * *

When Tori arrived home later that afternoon, she found Beck, Andre, Jade, Robbie, and Cat gathered in the small living room. As she closed the door, all eyes turned toward her. Beck's smile widened.

"And here she is now." As Tori walked toward Beck, he took her hand and pulled her down to sit on his lap. "The beautiful bride to be."

She smiled and slung an arm around his neck before leaning in for a kiss.

"How was therapy? Any better?"

"Great," she lied. She paused in wonder, amazed at how easily the lie slipped out. _Where had that come from?_ she thought.

She felt a gentle pressure on her hand. "Andre and Robbie are going to work with me tomorrow. I want to introduce Andre to the composer used for _Stutter Island,"_ Beck said. "He's supposed to be coming to meet with the director."

"That's a great idea," Tori replied. "Maybe a job will come out of it."

"Or at least an internship, or something of the sort," Andre said.

"So that means Jade, Cat, and you will be on your own."

"Oooh, can we go dress shopping? Can we? Please?" Cat asked anxiously. As Tori hesitated, Cat added, "Come on. You got home too late to go tonight. Can we please go tomorrow?"

Tori laughed. "Sure, Cat. We can go dress shopping."

"Yay! This is exciting!" Cat jumped up. "Come on, we need to find bridal stores around here. Where's your computer?"

Tori nodded toward the bedroom down the hall. "In the bedroom." She stood, unwrapping herself from Beck's arms. "Come on, I'll show you."

As Tori and Cat disappeared down the hallway, Beck stood and started toward the kitchen. "Can I get anyone anything to drink?"

"What do you have?" Jade asked.

Beck shuffled through the refrigerator, studying its contents. "Diet Pepsi…orange juice…water…"

"Diet for me," Jade said.

"Of course." He removed two cans. "Anyone else?"

"I think I'm good for now," Andre replied. He glanced at the clock. "I'll try to hold out until dinner." He grinned. "I've heard there's some pretty good places to eat around here."

Beck smiled. "Definitely." He slammed the refrigerator door shut before returning to the living room and handing Jade her drink. She mumbled a quiet "Thanks" before sinking back into the couch.

"We can go out tonight for dinner," Beck suggested. "We haven't really had time to catch up since you all arrived."

"Sounds good. Do you have a place in mind?" Andre inquired.

Beck took a sip of his drink. "Not really," he replied. He stood. "Let me talk to Tori. I'll be right back."

Robbie shook his head. "Not even married and she's already making the decisions around here? You're so whipped."

Beck bit back a smile. "We've basically been living off of Mexican food the past few weeks." He shrugged. "It's the only thing she can keep down, and the only thing that ever sounds even the slightest bit appealing to her."

"That must suck," Jade commented.

"Whatever works." Beck started down the hallway. "Be right back."

Tori and Cat had closed the bedroom door, leaving it open just a crack. Beck lifted his hand to knock, but stopped as he heard Cat's chipper voice fill the air. "Tori, I'm so happy for you. Both of you."

"Thanks."

Beck shook his head and started to back away. His mother's words ran through his mind. _It's never nice to eavesdrop. It leads to nothing but trouble._ But Cat's next words stopped him.

"So have you told Beck yet?"

Tori sighed heavily. "No," she admitted. "He's been so busy lately…"

"Tori, you have to tell him."

"I will. I _will_ tell him, just not yet. And you have to promise to keep it a secret. You can't tell him."

Beck closed his eyes, hesitating a split second before pushing the door open slowly. "Tell me what?"

Tori's gaze quickly went toward the door, where Beck stood. Her expression turned to one of pure panic, but she quickly recovered with a soft smile. She stood and walked toward him. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek before answering, "If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret anymore." She hooked her arm through his. "Now. Did you need something?"

"Yeah. The others are hungry, but I wanted to check with you before we decided on somewhere to eat."

"Mm...the usual?"

Beck smiled. "I figured." He started toward the door. "We may have to take two cars. I'll get my truck keys…"

"And I'll get mine. We'll meet you there."

* * *

Many of the bridal shops were appointment only. Though many were booked for months, Tori managed to make appointments at a few local shops. The next morning, Tori, Jade, and Cat went to their first appointment.

"Tori, look at this dress." Cat held up a flowing white dress with a long train trailing behind it. "Isn't it gorgeous?"

Tori nodded. "It is," she agreed. "But I'm not sure that I want a train." She glanced at Jade. "_Somebody_ threatened to step on it."

Jade shrugged. "Accidents happen," she said. When Tori glared, Jade rolled her eyes. "I'm _kidding._ I've matured quite a bit in the past year. You've got nothing to worry about."

"Good."

Suddenly, a short woman with long, blonde hair and a bright smile approached the trio. "Good morning," she said. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Yeah. I think I'm ready to try these on."

"Alright." The woman took the three wedding dresses from Tori's hands. "Follow me."

"Show them to us when you have them on," Cat said. Tori nodded and closed the fitting room door. A moment later, she emerged wearing the first dress. It was a long yet simple dress with material that pooled at the bottom.

Tori scrunched her nose. "I don't think so," she said.

"Agreed," Jade said. "Next."

The second was almost completely opposite. It was, as Cat called it, a "Cinderella dress" – or, a stereotypical wedding dress, with a large, ruffled skirt and tiny beads on the top half of the dress.

"Now _that's_ a wedding dress," Cat said. "What do you think?"

Tori studied herself in the mirror. "It _is_ pretty," she said. She turned, observing every angle of the dress. "But there's something about it…" She shrugged. "My mother always said that when you put on a dress, you'd look at it and just know." She smoothed out the fragile material. "I don't think this is it."

"You probably won't like the last one, then," Jade said. "It's just like it."

"Yeah." Tori sighed.

"Why don't we try somewhere else? Didn't you get appointments somewhere else?" Cat asked.

"Yeah, two more places."

"Great." Jade and Cat stood. "Change and let's go."

* * *

"Andre, I'd like to introduce you to Joseph Cameron. Mr. Cameron, this is my good friend, Andre Harris."

Joseph, an elderly man with fine, gray hair and a matching beard, light blue eyes, and wrinkling skin, smiled back at Andre as he clasped his hand in a warm handshake. "Call me Joseph," he said. "Nice to meet you, Andre. Beck's told me all about you and your music."

"Really?" Andre asked.

"That's right." Joseph's smile widened. "It sounds like you're pretty good at what you do. Am I right?"

"I guess…" Andre said hesitantly.

"Ah, you're a modest one." He hit Andre's shoulder lightly. "So, how would you like to work with me a little? Kind of like a job shadow. If things go well, maybe I can get you a job offer or two."

Andre grinned. "That would be great."

* * *

Three weeks later, Andre, Jade, Robbie, and Cat prepared to leave New York City to return home.

"Aw, you're sure you have to leave so soon?" Tori said.

"I'm afraid so. School is starting up soon, so we need to be getting back." Jade slung her purse over her shoulder. "It's been…interesting, though."

Tori raised her eyebrows. "Interesting?"

Beck came up behind Tori and put his arm around her waist. "That's a compliment coming from her," he said. "Come back soon. You're welcome anytime. And Andre – good luck with everything. Hopefully Joseph can come up with something soon."

Andre smiled. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

Cat hugged both Beck and Tori. "Be sure to let us know when the wedding is. If there's anything we can do to help, let us know."

"Because we're all just _so_ willing," Jade muttered under her breath. Andre nudged her roughly. "Ow!"

Beck rolled his eyes. "Before this gets violent…" he opened the front door. "It's been fun. Don't be a stranger. You're welcome anytime."

"Thanks. We'll keep that in mind." Andre nodded curtly. "Goodbye."

As soon as the door shut behind the group, Tori sighed heavily and leaned back against the door. "Quiet at last," she said.

Beck stepped closer. Tori wrapped her arms around his neck as he wrapped his around her waist. "Quiet at last," he repeated. He leaned his head against her forehead gently. "You know, since the others were here, I don't think we got to properly celebrate our engagement. What do you say about going out tonight?"

"Mm. I'd love to, babe, but remember we're supposed to meet Gabby tonight."

"Ah, yes. The cake decorator."

"Almost. Her _sister_ is a cake decorator. She's managed to get a small discount at Alice's Tea Cup. It's highly recommended."

Beck groaned. "We're aren't going to get a moment alone until this wedding is over, are we?"

"Not if we want to have it in May." Tori glanced at the clock. "I've got to go," she said. "It's almost noon."

"How about lunch?" Beck smiled. "Surely we can manage that?"

Tori kissed him gently. "Sounds good." She picked up her purse. "Text me the place and I'll meet you there."

"I will. Love you."

"Love you, too. Goodbye."

* * *

"Aaah, it's good to be home." Andre collapsed on his bed. "And in my own bed. Thank goodness they finally fixed that leak."

"I know." His roommate, Tommy, grinned. "Your mood certainly changed. A couple weeks in NYC sure changed you."

Andre returned the grin. "Yeah. It was nice seeing my friends again. It was almost like old times." His grin widened. "And I got to work with Joseph Cameron."

Tommy's eyebrows shot up. "_The_ Joseph Cameron?" Andre nodded. "I hate you right now. Just letting you know."

Andre laughed. "I thought so." He sat up. "That reminds me, I have to call Beck. Jade can't find her jacket and she thinks she left it at their apartment."

"Sucks for her." His roommate smiled as he pulled on his shoes. "Well, I'm out. I've got classes starting at ten. Don't wait up – I've got a date tonight."

Andre rolled his eyes. "Rub it in, why don't you?" His friend simply smiled in response before leaving, closing the door quietly behind him.

Andre pulled his cell phone off of its charger and dialed Beck's number. To his surprise, Beck answered on the first ring. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's Andre. How's it going?"

Beck sighed. "I've been better," he admitted. "I'm trying to track down Tori. She isn't answering her cell phone."

Andre glanced at his watch. "Isn't it almost one there? Maybe she's still in therapy."

"No, that's not the problem." Beck's tone changed from one of anxiousness to one of anger. "We were supposed to go to lunch this afternoon. I wanted to surprise her and pick her up after her session, but her car wasn't there. I went inside and talked to the secretary. Tori hasn't been to therapy is over a month."


	7. Chapter 7

Continuous thanks goes to clumsy20 for her awesome help :) I really appreciate it.

Next chapter's up! Enjoy.

* * *

Tori sat in the front seat of her car outside the theatre, nervously reading and rereading Beck's text.

_We need to talk._

Nothing good could possibly come out of those four words. Nothing.

_He knows,_ a voice seemed to whisper.

But that wasn't possible, she knew. Not with the privacy laws psychologists vowed to follow. He had no way of finding out.

Did he?

She sighed heavily and turned the key in the ignition. Suddenly, she couldn't help but think that something was wrong.

Very, very wrong.

* * *

"Hey. Andre Harris." Jade set her book bag down and sank into a chair next to his. "I'm cold. Where's my jacket?"

Andre shrugged. "I didn't get the chance to ask Beck about it," he replied. He pulled out a small pile of textbooks. "And even if I _had_ asked him about it, he'd have to send it from New York. You wouldn't have it today, anyway." He set his book bag next to Jade's. "I figured he had enough to deal with last night."

"If it's about Tori, I don't want to hear it," Jade said.

"Fine with me." Andre sat back in his chair and Jade took a sip of her drink. For a moment, both were quiet. However, Andre wasn't surprised when Jade suddenly spoke up. "All right, just tell me this. Are they still engaged?"

"Of course. Why would you think otherwise?"

Jade shrugged and took another drink of her coffee. "Just curious." A small smile played on her lips. "I'm in on a bet on how long that particular relationship will last."

Andre groaned. "Jade, quit being so pessimistic."

"Just saying."

Suddenly, the classroom door closed. "All right, class. Take your seats. We've got a lot to go over today."

As students scurried to their seats, their professor went to the board and uncapped a marker. "You're all familiar with improvisation. It's a basic concept in the theatrical world." He began to write on the whiteboard.

Andre cleared his throat softly. "So, how much do you have down on this bet, anyway?" he whispered.

Jade shrugged. "Just a couple hundred."

Andre scoffed. "Where did you even get that kind of money?"

"I have my ways," Jade whispered. She sighed. "And from the sound of it, I'm going to be more than a couple hundred bucks richer in a short – "

"Ms. West. Mr. Harris." Their professor capped the marker and set it down before stepping forward. "Do you mind sharing your conversation with the rest of the class?"

The two froze. Andre and Jade exchanged glances before quietly muttering, "No."

"Good." He raised his eyebrows. "Because I'm sure you all remember just how strongly I feel about interrupting lecture." He turned back to the board. "Now. Where were we?"

* * *

The moment she walked into the apartment, Tori found herself facing a very angry fiancé. She immediately tensed, bracing herself for the storm that was about to begin.

"I know you know," Tori said. She dropped her keys and purse on the kitchen table. "I don't know how you found out, but I know you did, so…just get it over with. Let's hear it."

Beck sighed heavily. "I spent hours trying to track you down yesterday since you wouldn't answer your phone, and you seriously have the nerve to be mad at _me?_" He shook his head in disbelief. "You lied to me. You lied to everybody. You could have been dead in a ditch somewhere for all I knew."

Tori scoffed. "Don't be so dramatic." She brushed past him and went to the kitchen sink. "I was at the theatre all afternoon. That's _it._ _I'm_ _fine."_ She filled up the coffeemaker with water and jabbed the 'Start' button with her finger before turning to face Beck. "Besides, if you would just listen every once in a while, I wouldn't have had to lie to you in the first place."

"No one made you lie, Tori. You know that."

She glared, but said nothing.

Beck stepped closer to her. "How can we possibly have a relationship if we can't be honest with each other?"

The coffeemaker finished with a quiet _ding_. The young couple ignored it. "You can't expect me to be honest with you when you won't even listen to me. It's like you don't even care."

"You know that isn't true."

"If that wasn't true, you would have agreed to finding a different therapist when all of this first started." She narrowed her eyes. "You may have actually noticed that therapy wasn't helping, but it was making it _worse._ You would have noticed all of that, but you _didn't, _so don't even try to tell me you care even the slightest bit about my life and wellbeing."

The room fell completely silent. Nearly a full minute passed by. Both Beck and Tori were seething. Finally, Tori spoke.

"You're right," she said. "We can't have a relationship based off of lies." Her gaze fell on her hands. The diamond marking her as Beck's fiancé winked back at her. She released a shaky breath before removing the ring. "I'll fix that right now." She placed it on the table beside Beck. "I'm sorry for being such a burden on you." She picked up her keys and cell phone. "It won't happen again."

"Tori…" Beck began.

She shook her head and walked away. She slipped on her shoes and left, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

"Well, I just got off the phone with Beck." Andre sighed. "Guess who's gone missing again."

Jade rolled her eyes. "What else is new?" she muttered. The two continued down the hallway. "What was it about this time?"

"Apparently Tori hasn't been to therapy in over a month. She's been lying to Beck about it, and he found out."

"Wait. I thought he found out about it a few days ago."

Andre pushed open the commons area door, leading to the cafeteria. He held it open for Jade before following her in. "He did. I think he was trying to think of a way to handle the situation without completely overreacting, so he waited to confront her."

"Sounds like that went well." Jade smirked. "He never has been good with confrontations."

Andre and Jade picked up a tray as they went through the line. "She'll be back," Jade said. "If she's anything like she was a year ago, she'll be back."

Andre sighed. "Let's hope so."

* * *

Minutes turned into hours. Over time, Beck watched as afternoon turned to night. Outside, the ice and snow continued to fall harder than ever. Tree branches snapped off like toothpicks under the heavy weight of accumulating ice. Very few homes around their apartment were left with electricity. The conditions were worsening almost by the minute.

Beck snatched the engagement ring off of the table and went into their bedroom, fighting the urge to leave and search for Tori. It wasn't logical – not in this weather. Instead, he dropped the ring into the bedside table drawer and shoved it shut roughly before collapsing on the bed. He closed his eyes as he tried to calm himself down.

_What have I done?_ he thought.

He rolled over in bed and buried his face in the pillow. He took in the familiar scent of Tori's perfume, and his heart ached a bit more.

_I'll just apologize when she comes back home. _

If only that was enough. He knew it wasn't. Not this time.

With his free hand, Beck turned on the radio, breaking the heavy silence in the room. Immediately, a recording began to play. _"The National Weather Service has issued an ice storm warning for the following counties. In New York: Bronx…Dutchess…Kings…New York…_

He slowly turned over and stared at the radio.

"…_the warned area should expect ice accumulations up to one inch…limited visibility…"_

His eyes widened. "Tori," he whispered.

* * *

The streets of New York City were almost deserted. Occasionally, a stray pair of headlights would pass her on the dimly lit roads; otherwise, Tori was alone.

She winced as nausea overcame her. She rested one hand on her belly as she tightened her grip on the steering wheel with the other. _Almost there,_ she thought. _Just hold on a few more minutes and we'll be there._

She leaned forward in her seat, squinting as she struggled to see through the mixture of blinding snow and ice.

_Go home. Turn back while you still can._

She anxiously glanced in her rearview mirror. A pair of headlights were quickly approaching, going much too fast for the conditions.

"Crazy driver," she muttered. She eased up on the gas and lightly tapped the brakes. Behind her, a truck had dropped their speed to a steady thirty, trailing only inches behind Tori. She shook her head and tried to concentrate on the road ahead of her.

Suddenly, the truck whipped around Tori, cutting her off as the driver passed her. She slammed on her brakes to avoid a certain collision, but her brakes did not catch. Desperate, she acted on instinct. She jerked the wheel to the right and once again hit the brakes. The car did not respond, but instead continued to the ditch. Tori braced herself as it began to flip.

In those last few moments, Tori's life seemed to flash before her eyes. It was fast, but like a film, memories of her relationship with Beck flashed through her mind. She remembered the moment they met. She remembered their first kiss - their first _real_ kiss - as a dating couple. She remembered their engagement and the joy they had shared that evening.

Then, she saw his angry expression as he confronted her lie. She saw the hurt in his eyes as she left him, leaving his ring behind. She remembered it all, and in those last few moments, she didn't feel terror. She didn't feel fear. Instead, she only felt an overwhelming sense of guilt.

Suddenly, the car came to a stop right-side up. Tori was jerked forward. Her head exploded in unbearable pain as she was thrown from the car.

Then, she was flying.

Further and further, she flew, until she came to an abrupt stop as she fell to the ground. She sank slightly into the deep snow, face down. Instantly, her body exploded with pain.

_Oh, my God…the pain._ She closed her eyes.

Her entire body seemed paralyzed. She couldn't move. Her head was pounding. A sharp pain shot through her as she attempted shift positions. She groaned miserably and lay there, still.

Suddenly, her father's voice filled her mind.

"_Always wear a seatbelt. I've seen too many deaths, had to speak with too many parents, just because someone forgot to wear their seatbelt. Don't become one of those victims."_

I'm so sorry, Dad_,_ she thought. I never meant to be just another…another case…another death.

Somewhere in the distance, she heard a car door slam, followed by yelling and cautious yet quick footsteps. She ignored them and instead sighed contently as she gave in to the soft caress of darkness awaiting her.

* * *

Beck anxiously glanced out the window. The snow and ice was coming down harder than before. According to their emergency radio, citizens all over New York City had lost electricity, except for a select few. Over an inch of ice was on the ground and even more was expected throughout the night. The entire city was declared to be in a state of lockdown.

He glanced at the clock. Midnight. Tori had been gone for hours. Where was she?

Suddenly, his cell phone rang. Beck immediately snatched it up. "Tori?" he asked anxiously.

"Try again." Jade sighed. "You still haven't found her, I take it?"

Beck sighed and ran a hand over his face wearily. "I haven't heard from her, and she won't answer her phone."

"See? This is what happens when you interfere. You should have just let her go about her business and she'd be home right now, wouldn't she?"

Beck scoffed. "Don't even start it," he said. He ran a hand through his hair. "The town is in complete lockdown, so she can't be – "

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. Beck rolled his eyes. "Hang on, Jade. Someone's at the door."

"Call me back." She hung up abruptly.

Beck shoved the cell phone back into his pocket before opening the door. He stopped still as he suddenly found himself facing two somber police officers.

"Beckett Oliver?"

Beck swallowed hard. A sickening feeling lurched inside him as he realized there was only one reason a cop would visit him in the middle of the night.

"Yes, that's me," he replied, finally finding his voice. He opened the door further. "Can I help you?"

"Yes." The younger of the two officers cleared his throat. "We recently recovered a young woman from a car accident. The car is completely totaled and therefore untraceable. However, we found an ID on her, linking her back to this address. Do you know Victoria Vega?"

Beck clutched the doorknob tightly with one hand. He knew it was the only thing holding him up as he answered, "Yes. Yes, I do." He released a jagged breath. "Is she – is she alive?"

Sympathetic eyes met his own. Then, the older officer gently said, "Maybe we should discuss this inside."


	8. Chapter 8

Just a quick note. Large chunks of _Italics _in the story from here on out represents a dream.

Enjoy.

* * *

"Miss. Miss, can you hear me?"

Through her state of pure haziness, Tori heard those words being spoken. She lay there a moment, trying to place where she was, how she had gotten there, and most of all, why she was in excruciating pain.

She was completely drenched. Something very cold and wet was falling on her. Ice, she realized. The frozen liquid stung as it made contact with her skin.

She opened her eyes just enough to see through her eyelids. Her car had come to rest nearly twenty feet away. It was completely destroyed – no windshield, a crumpled front-end, and a caved-in top. As she gazed at it, she almost wondered if she was better off thrown out than trapped inside.

_Almost. _The unbearable pain throughout her body told her otherwise.

Everything came back to her in a rush. She remembered the sound of struggling brakes as they fought to find traction, but without success. She remembered tumbling into the snow-covered ditch. She remembered being thrown from the car and flying through the chilly air before coming to a rough stop on the frozen ground. And then…nothing.

Mentally, she told her body to move. Stand up, wake up, do _something._ But it did not respond. She did, however, manage a groan as she slowly became more aware of her injuries.

An unfamiliar voice broke through the darkness trying to overcome her. "Hey, she's coming to."

Her eyes fluttered open further. She found herself staring into a pair of bright blue eyes and a very worried face.

"Can you move at all?"

She moved her lips to speak, but no sound came out. She finally sighed and slowly closed her eyes in resignation to the quickly approaching darkness.

"We're losing her," another voice said. The noise seemed distant to her blurred perception. "Where are those paramedics?"

She felt someone press their fingers to her wrist. After a moment, a soft voice murmured, "It's alright. You're going to be alright. Help is on the way."

It was the last thing she heard before falling into unconsciousness.

* * *

Beck quickly grabbed his keys and his cell phone before briskly walking toward the door. He removed his coat from its hanger before finally leaving the apartment.

"First Mercy Hospital. First Mercy Hospital," he muttered under his breath. With shaking hands he unlocked his truck and crawled in. He dumped his coat and cell phone on the seat next to him before turning on the ignition.

The storm had subsided slightly, but still, conditions for driving were less than decent. Despite his promise to the officers to stay at the apartment until the storm passed, he knew if he waited another moment, he would go crazy. He put the car in gear before quickly leaving the parking lot.

The roads were slick. At times, the truck seemed to veer off into another lane of traffic, but never quite forced him off the road. He slowed to a speed below twenty as he tried to concentrate on staying in his lane. He leaned forward and kept his eyes on the back lights of the car in front of him.

Beck glanced at the clock anxiously before tightening his grip on the steering wheel in frustration.

_Almost there._

* * *

Pain. It was the first thing Tori became aware of when she slowly came back to a state of semi consciousness. Her entire body throbbed with pain.

Someone's cold hands brushed over her as something was placed over her nose and mouth. She tried to lift her arm to pull it away, but only managed to move it less than an inch before immediately feeling a searing pain in her shoulder. She groaned and let her arm drop on something very firm.

She felt a jolt as the gurney was pushed through a set of double doors. It was only then that she became aware of someone's anxious voice above her.

"Victim has possible internal injuries…severe head trauma…dislocated shoulder…"

Tori wanted to scream, _I'm fine! I'm alive! _However, she couldn't summon the strength. She had completely lost control of her body.

Above her, the conversations continued. The sound was shrill to her and her everlasting headache.

"Has anyone contacted her immediate family?"

"Her family is in California. They _have_ been called, but…"

"Anyone else? Anyone close?"

"Her fiancé…Beckett Oliver. He's already been contacted at the family's request."

_Beck._

At that moment, an entirely new fear overcame her. _What if I don't see Beck again?_

"We're losing her."

She had to apologize. She had to see him, even if it was just one more time. She needed to feel his arms around her and hear his voice, calm and sure, as he whispered the three words she needed to hear more than anything right then. _I love you_.

"I need a defibrillator, right here, ready for use, _now_."

The words were distant. Her world was fading away. Desperately, she began to pray. She needed one more chance. One moment, one second, just _one more chance._ Everything would change.

"Come on, come on, let's go!"

But nothing changed. Instead, she was greeted by a new brightness. Her pain slowly faded away as she willingly fell into unconsciousness, leading to a wonderful place of pure bliss and comfort.

_Heaven._

* * *

Andre and Tommy were both jolted out of a deep slumber after their dorm room light was turned on. Andre groaned as he turned over in bed. "Not again," he muttered.

"We need to talk," Jade said.

From under his comforter, Tommy mumbled, "Can't you wait until morning?"

"No," she snapped. "And this isn't your business." She turned to Andre, who was sitting up in bed. "Something serious has happened."

He rubbed his eyes wearily. "Serious enough to get me out of bed at midnight?"

"Yeah," she replied. She sighed heavily. "Come on. We'll talk in the hall."

Andre pulled on a shirt then followed Jade to the hallway. He closed the door quietly behind him. "So what's the emergency?"

Jade placed her hands on her hips. "Beck just called. Tori is in the hospital," she said. "She was in a car accident a few hours ago."

Andre's eyes widened. "Is she okay?"

Jade's expression went completely somber. "Not really," she replied. "New York City is in a state of complete lockdown because of an ice storm they're getting right now. Apparently, Tori was out in it and lost control of her car on the ice. She wasn't wearing a seatbelt and she was thrown from the car."

Jade paused for breath. "She was brought in with severe head trauma, several broken ribs, and a few broken bones. Her heart stopped for over two minutes before they finally resuscitated her. They…declared her comatose." Jade sighed. "They're monitoring her condition continuously, but at this point, they aren't sure that she's going to make it."

Andre sank to the ground there in the hallway, stunned. For a long moment, he sat there with his back against the wall and his head in his hands.

The world seemed to stop. The words _Tori_ and _hospital_ and _coma_ ran though his mind. _Dream. It's a dream and nothing more,_ he thought. _I just need to…wake up._

"There's something else," Jade said slowly, breaking though his thoughts.

He looked up at her. "What?"

Jade walked toward him and took a seat beside him. "Tori was pregnant, Andre. She was almost four months pregnant, and…she lost the baby."

Andre shook his head slowly in disbelief. "Do you think she knew?"

Jade was quiet a moment. She was staring straight ahead, almost in a daze. Without looking away, she replied softly, "Yeah. I think she did." She looked down at her hands. "Beck's pretty upset about it. I'm sure he's going through pure hell right now at that hospital."

Andre sighed. "And I thought _I_ had it bad," he muttered. He looked at Jade. "You do know what we have to do, right?"

"Yeah." Jade scoffed. "But where can we possibly get enough money to take a trip to New York? It's going to be hundreds of dollars just to make the trip."

"We can ask Robbie and Cat to come with us," Andre said. "Between the four of us, surely we can come up with something."

Jade shrugged. "Fine. When do we leave?"

Andre glanced at the time displayed on his cell phone. "It's twelve-thirty now," he said. "I'm going to call Robbie and Cat. We'll aim for…" he did a quick calculation in his head. "Seven tomorrow morning. Whose car are we taking?"

"We can take my car," Jade said. "It's bigger and better for traveling, especially with Cat. You know how she is in the car."

Andre rolled his eyes. "Not the time, Jade."

"Sorry."

"So we'll take your car. We can each take turns driving so we won't have to get a room somewhere along the way."

"That's fine." Jade carefully stood up. "I'm going to go pack."

"Alright. Make sure you pack a pillow and blanket for yourself – you'll probably be doing a lot of sleeping in the car. How many hours will it take to get there?"

"I think Beck said about forty hours, maybe a little more, maybe a little less."

Andre nodded. "We'll make the best of it," he said. "Meet me at the car at six forty-five to load up. Tell Robbie and Cat to do the same – picking them up would be out of our way."

"Will do." Jade offered her hand to Andre. He took it gratefully as he stood. She offered a somewhat forced but reassuring smile. "See you soon."

* * *

Beck awoke to the sound of ice lightly slapping against the window. Outside, a siren cut off abruptly as an ambulance came to a stop in the hospital parking lot. Quiet voices passed by the waiting room as another patient was pushed down the hallway in a wheelchair. The hospital was otherwise quite eerie.

He sat up in his chair and rubbed his eyes wearily. For a moment, his hopes interfered with his reality as he imagined himself back at their apartment with Tori safely wrapped in his arms. His dreams were shattered as one glance around him brought him back to a very harsh reality.

Beck ran a hand over his face. _Must have dozed off,_ he thought. He glanced at the clock.

He had long ago lost track of the time. He had been at the hospital countless hours, yet they refused to let him into her room. "Immediate family members _only,_ and _only_ if she stabilizes," a nurse informed him for the umpteenth time.

If he heard the words one more time, he would hit something – or some_one._

Suddenly, the silence of the hospital was broken by quick footsteps down the hallway. The door opened and David and Holly Vega walked in, both out of breath.

"We got on the first flight we could find," Holly said. She released a shaky breath. "How is she? What have they told you?"

Beck stood. Quickly, he repeated word for word everything he had learned from the doctor. By the time he had finished, both of Tori's parents were in tears. The sight was heartbreaking.

"How did this happen? What was she doing out in the middle of a storm like this in the first place?" David asked.

"We…had a fight," Beck answered hesitantly. "She was upset and left before the storm started." He shrugged. "She just...never made it home."

Tori's father crossed his arms and stared long and hard at Beck. "You do remember our conversation the night you asked my permission to marry my daughter, right?"

Beck cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Yes, sir. Of course I do. But it wasn't my fault." As David's gaze hardened, Beck added, "Not completely."

"You could have stopped her."

Beck's anger flared. Boldly, he straightened his posture to his full height as he faced the older man. "With all due respect, sir, she's nineteen years old. She's an adult, and I think she can make her own decisions."

"Apparently not."

"David." Holly glared at her husband. "That's enough." She shook her head. "There's no time to point fingers. Not now. We have one concern right now, and that's Tori. She needs us – _all _of us. You two need to at least pretend to get along, for Tori's sake."

David grunted but said nothing more. Beck took a seat.

"Have you seen her at all?" Holly asked.

Beck shook his head. "They won't let me in," he replied. "She isn't stable enough to have visitors yet; her blood pressure is too high. They're worried we'll cause her blood pressure to rise to dangerous levels."

"She's in a coma," David said. He started toward the door. "We can't do that much damage."

Beck quickly became irritated with Tori's father. "Comatose patients can still sense when someone is with them. She has enough trouble as it is; I'd wait until the doctor gives the all clear."

David scoffed. He paused at the door to look back at Beck. "I think you're the last person who should be telling me what to do right now," he spat.

Beck crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "Do what you want, but they won't let you in. Trust me, I've tried. They're keeping all visitors out."

"Like hell they are," David responded. He roughly opened the door before disappearing into the Intensive Care Unit. Holly stayed behind.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "He's just upset right now. This is how he deals with stress." She took a seat beside Beck. "Honey, you look exhausted. You need to get some rest. And when's the last time you ate?"

Beck looked blankly at the clock, trying to focus on the numbers, but they seemed to swim before his eyes. He closed his eyes tightly for a moment before trying to focus again. Finally, he answered, "I don't know. Probably dinner around four, since we were shooting on set today…"

Holly rested her hand gently on his. "Go home and rest," she said. "You and I both know Tori wouldn't want you wearing yourself out like this."

But Beck shook his head. "I'd rather stay here," he said. "I'd rather be here with her."

Holly sighed. "If you go home and rest, we'll stay here with Tori. If anything changes, you'll be the first person to know." She offered a weak smile and squeezed his hand reassuringly. "I promise."

* * *

Beck stumbled into the apartment around noon. He forced himself to eat a sandwich before falling into bed fully clothed. He closed his eyes.

"_You lied to me. You lied to everybody. You could have been dead in a ditch for all I knew."_

"_Don't be so dramatic. I was at the theatre all afternoon. That's it. I'm fine."_

He buried his face beneath the pillow in a failed attempt to quiet the memories.

_Tori caressed his cheek, pushing a lock of dark hair out of his eyes. She smiled softly and asked, "Love me?"_

_Beck smiled and pulled her closer. "Always."_

Beck sighed heavily and finally sat up in bed. His eyes fell on the empty left side of the bed, where, on any other night, Tori would be asleep beside him. The thought made him ill to his stomach. _She's dying because of you, _the small, spiteful voice returned.

His heart ached. He reached over and opened the bedside table drawer before removing the engagement ring from it. He clenched his fist closed around it. Then, as a mixture of exhaustion and stress settled in, he closed his eyes. For the first time in a long time, he completely broke and cried.

* * *

In an entirely different world, Tori Vega was stuck in what would soon become her new reality – a long-lasting nightmare full of her hellish past.

"_Why isn't she conscious yet?" a deep voice growled. "She should have been awake hours ago!"_

"_Calm down. She'll be awake soon; just give it time."_

"_You gave her too much. I told you to give her just enough to knock her out."_

"_She put up a fight. What did you expect me to do? Let her escape?" A door slammed shut. Heavy footsteps started down the stairs. "Then she'd call the cops – or tell her father, even – and the entire deal would be off."_

"_Shut up, both of you," another voice snarled. "See if she's awake before we leave. If she's not, you're a dead man – literally. I didn't risk my freedom by kidnapping a _cop's_ daughter for nothing. We're collecting that ransom, so she needs to be kept _alive_."_

_Suddenly, the basement door opened. Three burly men piled into the room. Behind them followed a very familiar man. He pushed through the trio. His gaze fell on Tori, who remained bound in a corner of the room. He smiled. "Not to worry, gentlemen. She's awake and well." He stepped forward. "Tori Vega, it's nice of you to finally join us. We were beginning to worry."_

_Tori scoffed. "You? Worried about me? I doubt it."_

_Erwin Sikowitz ignored the comment. Instead, he glanced at his watch casually. "Well, we were just dropping in. I do believe it's time for us to get going. We have a very important phone call to make." He started out the door. He paused in the doorway. "I'd like one of you to stay with her, at least until we can find different accommodations. We wouldn't want the money escaping, now, would we?"_

_Laughter erupted in the room. As one man stayed behind, the others disappeared upstairs. Tori stared after them. Her thoughts were spinning. _

_She was stuck in a nightmare, full of kidnappings, ransoms, and terror. For a moment, she thought back to her eighteen year old self, when she first endured this horrific experience. _

_Everything could be different. _

_A year ago, she had been a scared teenager, left to a predetermined, uncontrollable fate. She had witnessed death, felt true terror, and released feelings she never thought she had. But now, she was older. Stronger, both emotionally and physically. She could get through this. _

_She could escape. _

_She closed her eyes, and immediately, memories of her time with Beck flashed through her mind. The thought of never seeing him again brought tears to her eyes. _

_She had to get free. _

_And somehow, someway, she would._


	9. Chapter 9

It was barely seven when the sound of his cell phone broke through Beck's fitful sleeping.

Beck snatched his phone off of the bedside table and flung it across the room. It crashed against the wall and fell to the floor with a _thud._ It fell silent.

He sighed contently and buried himself under the sheets, fully prepared to sleep the day away.

But someone had other plans.

He groaned as the phone sounded again. Annoyed, he threw back the sheets and trudged to the opposite side of the room. He rolled his eyes as he took note of the bleeding pixels on the tiny screen. Ignoring it temporarily, he answered the call.

"Beck! Great, you're awake. How's it going?"

Beck sighed and rubbed his eyes wearily. "Not well," he muttered. "Look, Jake, this isn't – "

"I have got wonderful news," Jake interrupted. "What would you say if I landed you an audition for the lead part in the movie of the century?"

"I'd say this isn't a good time," Beck answered firmly. He sighed and opened the closet door. He shuffled through his clothes in search of a shirt. "My fiancé is in the hospital, and I can barely make it to work as it is now. Taking on another job would be murder."

"Beck." His manager scoffed. "If this movie is even _half_ as big as it's expected to be, your career will skyrocket. Imagine the publicity. Imagine the money. Imagine the _fame._"

_As if that even matters, now._ Beck sighed and yanked a shirt off of its hanger before starting toward the dresser. "I'll think about it, alright? When do you have to know by?"

"Friday."

Beck slammed the dresser drawer shut. "I'll get back to you."

"You'd better." The line went dead.

Beck let out an audible sigh and sank onto the bed. He ran a hand through his hair wearily as his manager's words seemed to linger in his thoughts.

It was the job of a lifetime – that, he was sure of. But the timing was wrong, and it certainly wasn't logical – not with a comatose fiancé and a life which seemed to be slowly falling apart before his very eyes.

He stood and crammed his cell phone back into his pocket. He snatched his keys off of the dresser and started down the hallway toward the door.

"I'll deal with it later," he muttered. He removed his coat from its hanger and left, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Cat whined.

Jade rolled her eyes. "Cat, we aren't even out of California yet." She glared into the rearview mirror. "Don't start it."

Cat pouted. "But I'm bored."

"Too bad."

She sank back in her seat. Robbie nudged her lightly. "Here." He removed a deck of cards from his pocket. "Let's play a game."

As the two fell quiet, Jade tightened her grip on the steering wheel. Forty more hours of this hell.

Beside her, Andre sighed. "Relax," he murmured.

She scoffed. "Who said I'm not relaxed?"

He shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "Maybe that steering wheel you're about to choke."

She glared but loosened her grip. "If I go insane before we reach New York, I blame you."

Andre smirked. "Hate to break it to you, but…you're already insane."

She nudged him roughly. "Hey!" he cried.

But even then, he couldn't help but notice the small smile that crept over her face.

* * *

_Twenty-two minutes. She knew she had exactly twenty-two minutes until they came back._

_She was alone for the first time in days. For the first time since the kidnapping, she was given an opportunity she had never gotten before. She immediately began to take advantage of the time. _

_As she began struggling with her bonds, she also scanned the walls, the window, and even the door for even the slightest hint of an escape route. She found none. The door, she knew, was locked, and the window too high. Both were useless. _

_Her shoulders sagged in despair. Why did everything have to be so complicated? She closed her eyes, fighting off the strong urge to give in to her fear and completely break down. _

_After a long moment, she released a shaky breath before starting on her bonds once again. She tried twisting and wriggling her wrists to loosen the rope._

_Nothing._

_She pulled and struggled and continued to work against the thick rope. Nearly ten minutes passed by. She was running out of time. _

_Suddenly, by some miracle, she felt the rope go slack. Her eyes widened as a moment later, the ropes fell to the ground with a soft _thud._ She couldn't help the smile of satisfaction that crept over her expression. _

_So far, so good._

* * *

Completely clad in scrubs and gloves, Beck stood outside a closed door, slowly gathering the courage to face the reality behind it.

As he stood in the hallway, he took in the strong scent of sterilizer, the soft chatter of the nurses, and the seemingly loud, constant sound of a telephone. Everything about the place made him uncomfortable as memories of the last time he had been there for a similar reason crossed his mind.

He shook his head and finally pushed open the door. His breath caught at what he saw.

Numerous wires and tubes with multiple functions ran from one machine or another to Tori's frail body as she lay lifelessly in the hospital bed. Deep cuts, dark bruises, and several bandages covered a majority of her pale white skin.

Even then, she looked beautiful.

He walked to her bedside and gently took her hand, which was cold and limp in his own. With a trembling hand, he reached out and gently pushed a strand of hair out of her face. He winced as he caught sight of a large gash on the right side of her forehead. The sight was ghastly.

He wished more than anything that she would somehow respond to his touch. He wanted to see her eyes open and hear her voice. He wanted to apologize and hold her and show her just how much he loves her.

But of course, nothing happened.

He took a seat beside her, still clutching her hand. _She's dying because of you_, a voice whispered.

His grip tightened. He ducked his head low and closed his eyes, fighting the urge to completely break down. _Stay strong,_ he thought. _Stay strong for her sake._

He released a jagged breath. Then, Beck did something he hadn't done in a long time.

He prayed.

* * *

The sun had just set when the four friends crossed the border into Utah, marking the end of their first day of traveling.

It was a clear night, with hundreds of stars shining down on the world around them. The soft moonlight provided the most reliable light as the car continued down the bumpy desert road.

In the front seat, Andre had long ago dozed off. Robbie and Cat talked quietly in the backseat. As she drove, Jade let her mind wonder.

Throughout a majority of her high school life, Jade had seldom managed to get along with Tori - or anyone else, for that matter. Whether it was unkind words or physical violence, the two certainly had their quarrels over the years.

Now, she was dying, and for the first time in a long time, Jade felt regret. She had made a few feeble attempts at friendship over the past few years, but most of her memories consisted of arguing and fighting, even over things that just don't seem to matter – especially now. The thought was sobering.

"Jade?"

"What?" she snapped.

Robbie leaned forward and glanced over her shoulder at the speedometer. "You're going over ninety."

Without warning, she veered to the side of the road, braced herself, and slammed on the brakes, causing the others to lurch forward violently.

"What happened?" Andre gasped. He sat up groggily. "Did we hit something?"

"No." Jade removed the keys from the ignition and tossed them to Andre. "But it's your turn to drive."

As the two stepped out of the car, Andre sighed. "If that's your way of waking me up, I don't like it," he muttered.

Jade smirked. "Deal with it."

* * *

As Andre and Jade changed seats, Robbie looked out the window. Countless twinkling stars shined back at him.

A year ago, those stars may have brought him comfort. _'Wish upon a star, and all your dreams will come true,'_ he was told. He smirked to himself. Maybe in the eyes of a child, but never in reality would doing so make everything alright again. Reality was not always so kind, nor was it so simple.

He felt someone's hand slip into his own. He looked to his left. Cat was smiling softly at him, and Robbie couldn't help but smile back. Cat gently rested her head on Robbie's shoulder and closed her eyes. "Get some sleep, babe," she said softly.

He nodded. "I will in a little while," he promised. He wrapped his arm around her gently, and she snuggled against him. Robbie pulled one of the blankets up over her. Then, as exhaustion finally settled in, she fell asleep.

As she slept, Robbie found himself watching Cat. He couldn't even imagine how Beck must be feeling. If the tables were turned and it was Robbie put in Beck's shoes…he wasn't sure how he would get through it in one piece. The thought of helplessly watching someone you love slowly die in front of your eyes was sickening. Robbie could only hope that Beck had the emotional strength to get through this.

He sighed heavily and gently planted a kiss on the top of Cat's head. "I love you," he said softly before closing his eyes and settling down to sleep. However, he couldn't miss his girlfriend's voice as she softly replied, "I love you, too."

* * *

_A world away, Tori was lying on a cold, firm floor in pure agony. Two smirking faces floated above her mockingly. She was fighting with consciousness, and quickly losing the battle. But suddenly, a voice broke through it all, somehow bringing her back from the darkness._

"_We warned you against trying to escape, Tori Vega." Careful footsteps started toward her. "You aren't getting out of here alive, no matter what you may think." A slow, cruel smile crossed her captor's face. "And I believe you just adjusted our agenda a bit."_

_Another thug entered the room. "Here's the gun, boss." _

_Sikowitz nodded as the other man dropped the gun into his outstretched palm. "Thanks," he muttered. He nodded toward the door. "I want the rest of you out. I want to finish her off alone."_

"_Of course."_

_Four burly men filed out of the room. The door shut quietly behind them._

_From her position on the floor, Tori met her captor's eyes for what she was sure would be the last time. She watched him watch _her._ He fiddled with the gun for a long moment, and she knew he was enjoying this way too much. Finally, she heard the safety latch release. _

"_Tori, it's been a pleasure having you here," he said. He sighed. "But I'm afraid this little job has become much more than we bargained for." He lifted the gun and smiled a smile full of fake kindness. "No hard feelings."_

_In those last few moments, the world seemed to be stuck in slow motion. Her mind whirled with memories and regret as the last few moments of her life quickly approached. __This is it, she thought. She took a deep breath, bracing herself for her last moments. It was then that it came to her._

_They were alone. There were no other intimidating, strong, dangerous men, and no more bonds. There was no one but her and her captor. She eyed the gun. _

_Was it worth it? She would die either way._

_She took a deep breath. _

_Then, she lunged for the gun._

* * *

It was nearly midnight when a nurse came into Tori's room for his nightly rounds.

As he pushed open the door, he was immediately greeted by the steady sound of the heart monitor as it displayed a perfectly straight line.

Flatline.

His eyes widened, and the man rushed out of the room. He sprinted to the nurse's station and snatched up the telephone, flipping the switch for the loudspeaker.

"Code Blue! Need immediate assistance in ICU 124! Code Blue!"


	10. Chapter 10

IMPORTANT: If you read chapter 9 before August 20, 2011, please go back and re-read. It has been completely changed and you will be completely lost if you don't.

Enjoy!

* * *

Within seconds, room 124 was flooded with doctors and nurses.

"What happened?"

"Cardiogenic shock eventually led to cardiac arrest," a nurse replied tersely. She placed an oxygen mask over Tori's nose and mouth as Doctor Samuels began chest compressions.

"How long?"

"A little over one minute."

_Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty._ "Oxygen," Samuels muttered. The nurse gently pumped oxygen into Tori's lungs. Samuels continued administering CPR.

"Her vital organs are giving out." _Ten…eleven…twelve… _

"How long?" a voice called out.

"Over two minutes."

As Samuels continued, his eyes fell on the dying girl's face. Her skin was pale and cold, her expression lifeless.

So young, so innocent. So much to live for.

His arms were quickly growing weary, and the odds of somehow saving Tori's life were certainly against him. However, in those last few moments, he became more determined than ever before to somehow, someway, give her the fighting chance she deserved.

He continued the CPR.

* * *

_In a musty basement, captor and captive fought for the gun. _

_They were on the floor, each with one hand on the gun. _

"_Give it up," Sikowitz hissed. _

"_No!" Tori replied. She lashed out, making contact with the older man's middle. He grunted, but immediately retaliated with a punch of his own. _

"_Give me the gun!" _

_She yanked, hard, on her end of the gun. "You're going to set it off just fighting for the stupid thing. Let go!" she snapped._

_Dark eyes bore into her own as he snarled a single word. "Never."_

* * *

"It's been over three minutes. Just call it!"

"No!" Doctor Samuels snapped. He glanced at the doctor who had temporarily taken his place.

Sweat trickled down his forehead. His arms wobbled as they began to give out due to the continuous motion. _Twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight…_

Another nurse gently pressed her fingers to Tori's wrist. "But sir, if you wait much longer, oxygen deprivation will – "

"_I'm not calling it,_" Samuels interrupted sternly. He pushed the other man aside. "Let me take over."

* * *

At five-thirty, four anxious friends filed into First Mercy Hospital. Immediately, they marched up to the front desk. They were greeted by an elderly woman with a kind smile. "Can I help you?"

"We're looking for Victoria Vega. Can you please tell us what room she's in?" Andre asked.

"Certainly." The woman turned to her computer. She leaned forward closer to the screen and pressed several keys on the keyboard. Finally, she answered, "Ms. Vega is normally in ICU 124, but it seems that she was recently moved to…CICU 242."

Robbie's eyebrows shot up. "CICU? But isn't that for…"

"Patients with cardiovascular difficulties." The woman sighed and turned back to the others. "Visitors are very limited in the CICU. Feel free to go up there, but there's no guarantee you'll be seeing anyone."

Jade scoffed. "We'll see about that." She turned on her heels. She grabbed Andre's hand and began to drag him away. "Come on, guys."

The others exchanged glances. Andre shrugged before disappearing around the corner. The others followed close behind.

* * *

The waiting room - a fairly large area with several chairs, a single table, and an unknown smell so strong it could be smelt from the hallway - was practically empty by the time the small group arrived. Before entering, they paused outside the room, taking in the scene before them.

Holly Vega was sitting in a corner of the room, sobbing. David Vega stood behind her with a grave expression and his hand resting comfortingly on his wife's shoulder. In front of them stood a doctor clad in white as he spoke gently to the couple.

In the center of the room was Beck. He sat alone as he stared blankly into pure nothingness. His eyes seemed sunken in and his face seemed pale. He looked exhausted – as if at any given moment, he would collapse.

Andre shook his head. "This does _not_ look good," he murmured.

Jade pushed past the others and walked into the room. "Beck Oliver."

Startled, Beck snapped out of his trance and turned his gaze toward the door. His eyes widened. "Jade?" Then, as he caught sight of the others, he continued, "Andre? Robbie? Cat? Wh – what are you doing here? When did you get here?"

"About..." Robbie glanced at the clock. "Five minutes ago."

"We couldn't let you go through this alone, now, could we?" Cat said with a smile.

Beck smiled faintly as Cat wrapped her arms around him soothingly. "Thanks," he said softly. "You have no idea how much that means to me."

Andre's eyes traveled toward the nearly hysterical woman in the corner. "What's going on?"

Beck leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes wearily. "Tori went into cardiac arrest around midnight," he answered. "It took nearly five minutes to get her heart to start again, and the doctors fear that it's only going to be temporary."

He nodded toward the Vegas. "The doctors believe that oxygen deprivation has caused severe damage to the brain. They're trying to convince her parents to sign a DNR document."

Robbie's eyes widened. "So that's it? They're just…giving up?"

Beck shook his head and stood. "If she wakes up – "

"_When,_" Andre corrected him.

Beck sighed. "_When_ she wakes up, she may be an entirely different person. She may have mental or physical disabilities that stay with her the rest of her life." He looked down and studied the floor long and hard. "The last thing I'd ever do is give up on her, but I just – I can't help but wonder if putting her through this is worth it."

Suddenly, a door closed quietly, and the five friends found themselves alone.

"This is worse than I thought," Andre murmured.

Beck looked down at the sparkling diamond in his hand. His hand clenched tightly around the ring. He released a jagged breath. Then, for the first time, he spoke the words that had haunted him for days. "It's all my fault," he whispered.

Jade rested her hand comfortingly on his shoulder. "This is _not_ your fault," she said.

He shrugged her hand off. "It _is_ my fault." He scoffed. "If I hadn't fought with her, she would be home right now instead of fighting for her life." His voice rose. "She wouldn't have been out in the worst storm NYC has seen in ten years. She would have – " he broke off.

"Let it out," Cat said softly.

Beck kicked roughly at a chair, ignoring the pain and the noise as it clattered across the room. He ran a trembling hand through his hair before fumbling in his pocket for his keys. "I have to get out of here," he muttered.

Robbie was instantly at his side. "No way," he said. "You're not driving – not in your condition. Do you want to end up here with her?"

"Maybe I do," Beck snapped.

"Alright, look." Jade sighed. "Let someone drive you home now. Go home and get some rest." As Beck opened his mouth to protest, Jade looked into his eyes. "You need it. In a few hours, we'll come back up here and see if anything has changed."

But Beck shook his head. "No. No, I'm – "

"Completely losing it." Jade shrugged. "You aren't doing her any favors by breaking down. If you aren't part of the solution, you're part of the problem."

Beck glared. "Don't start that crap with me," he spat.

"It's true and you know it."

The room fell silent. Andre stepped forward with an extended hand. Beck grudgingly dropped his keys into his friend's hand. Andre offered a tight smile. "That's better. Now let's go."

* * *

_The fight was coming to an end. Both Tori and Sikowitz had grown tired, and it was now down to a matter of youth – a benefit Tori would certainly take. _

_Chairs were toppled over and several deep, large holes covered the walls from their brawl. Tori grasped the leg of a chair and yanked on it, hard, until it made contact with the older man's skull. He yelled out in pain. _

_His hand jerked out, and the gun slid across the room. _

_Tori's eyes widened. Both she and Sikowitz lunged for the gun. _

_He was only a split second behind her. She quickly extended her left foot out, and Sikowitz fell to the ground, hard. A moment later, he looked up to find himself staring down the cold, unforgiving barrel of a gun. He knew then that it was over. _

_Tori's hands trembled as she held the pistol. She released a shaky breath before a large grin slid across her face as a new realization finally sank in. _

_She was free._

* * *

They arrived back at the apartment at seven.

"Sorry we don't have an extra bedroom," Beck said. He shut the front door and flipped the light switch, flooding the room with light. "You're welcome to sleep on the couch if you're staying the night tonight."

Andre collapsed on the couch and sighed contently. "Feels fine to me," he said. "And I wouldn't mind a small nap. Being stuck in a car for over forty hours can actually be somewhat exhausting."

Beck smiled faintly. "I'll get some sheets and blankets." He disappeared down the hall.

From his position on the couch, Andre looked around the apartment. Pictures of a laughing, happy couple hung on the wall. Now-molded and soiled food from several days before remained out on the kitchen counter.

He shook his head. Earlier, Jade had accused Beck of basically having an emotional breakdown. However, Andre was sure that there was so much that his friend was still holding in. He stood and started down the hallway.

Beck and Tori's bedroom door was ajar. Andre peered in. His heart ached in sympathy at the sight before him.

Perched on the edge of the bed, Beck gazed sadly at what looked like a photograph in his hands. A few silent tears slipped down his cheeks, but he impatiently wiped them away. He gently ran the tips of his fingers over the photo. He released a heavy sigh.

Andre hesitated a moment before knocking softly on the door.

"Come in."

Andre pushed open the door and offered a small smile. "How's it going?"

Beck glanced at Andre and laughed bitterly. "I've been better." He shook his head slowly. "Sorry, I forgot your sheets," he mumbled.

Andre shrugged. "No problem."

Beck's eyes returned to the photo. "The doctor gave me this shortly after the accident." He looked up at Andre and held the photo out. Andre walked toward Beck, stopping in front of him before taking the photo.

It was a photo from a sonogram.

"It's kind of…strange," Beck said. "I didn't find out about her until a few days ago, but it hurts so much, just knowing she's gone." He smiled softly. "It's like I fell in love with her the moment I saw this picture, and knowing I'll never see her, or hold her in my arms, or even get to know her..." he shook his head. "It's a horrible feeling."

Andre sighed. "Cat was talking about that on the way here," he said. He leaned back against the wall. His eyes remained on the photo. "Tori was going to tell you about the pregnancy, but you were still filming _Stutter Island._ She knew that if she told you, it would distract you from your work. She was going to tell you as soon you were completely through filming." He set the photo on the dresser and shrugged. "She had good intentions, Beck. Even if it wasn't handled the right way in the long run, she really did mean well."

Before Beck could respond, his cell phone sounded again. He glanced at the Caller ID before tossing the phone back on the bed beside him.

"Who is it?" Andre asked.

"My manager." He pushed himself to his feet and started toward the closet. "He has an audition opportunity for me. He's really pushing me to take it."

"That's great! What's the problem?"

Beck scoffed. "What's the problem?" he asked incredulously. He pulled a pile of sheets and blankets off of a shelf. "My fiancé is _dying._ I haven't slept – I mean _really_ slept – in almost four days. I've missed work so many times they're threatening to replace me." He slammed the closet door shut. "Do you really think I need the stress of another job right now?"

"Yes." When Beck glared, Andre continued, "Hear me out. You're going to throw your life away. Believe it or not, I happen to know what you're going through." He sighed. "When my Grandma died, I let everything go. I didn't care about anything anymore, because it didn't seem like anything else mattered."

He looked at Beck. "But the world truly does go on." He shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged. "I had someone there for me to make sure I didn't throw my life away. Now, you need to let us – all of us – in to help you, too." He offered a small smile. "Don't let this get away from you, or you really will regret it the rest of your life."

Beck hesitated a moment. He looked down at his cell phone. After a moment, he slowly reached for it. His hand hovered over it for a few seconds before snatching it up. He scrolled through his contacts list before placing a call.

The phone rang once. Twice. Finally, an answer. "Hey, Jake, it's me – Beck." He took a deep breath. He looked at Andre, who nodded encouragingly. "I've got an answer for you."


	11. Chapter 11

Hello, all. So, first of all, I'd like to say thank you so much to my amazing beta, clumsy20, for all of her help on this story. Second, after this chapter, this story, along with "More Than Beauty", will be temporarily put on hiatus. Sorry, but it must be done. In the meantime, enjoy the next chapter!

- a novelist

* * *

Three long, tiresome weeks later, Beck finished filming one movie only to move directly into another. He had to admit, the distraction was wonderful.

The cast was amazing, and the actual filming was even better. For several hours a day, Beck was able to slip into an entirely different world, and he couldn't help but feel as if all of his troubles were thousands of miles away.

"First positions!"

Beck took one last chug of his water before capping the bottle and hurrying to his position on set.

"Beck, we're going to have you sitting at the dining table for the first shot," the director was saying. He looked down at a copy of their script. "Samantha, you're off stage left. Now, listen for your cue. Beck will say his line…"

Beck blocked out the other voices in the room as his cell phone vibrated once, announcing an incoming text message. He hesitated a moment before pulling the phone out of his pocket.

As he quickly scanned over the message, his heart nearly stopped. He released a quiet half-sob of pure disbelief before forcing himself to suppress his emotions.

He stood on wobbly legs and started toward the director, who looked at him oddly. "Is there a problem?"

Beck nodded. "I – I have to go," he whispered. He took a deep breath. "I – I'm sorry, but something came up. I just…well, here."

He thrust the cell phone at the other man, who read the message. A moment later, he looked up with a soft smile. "Go," he said. He returned the phone to Beck. "You're needed there." He stepped back, closer to the stage. "Go now, and we'll pick up tomorrow."

Beck smiled graciously. "Thank you," he said. "Thank you so much."

Then, without another moment wasted, he ran to his dressing room and retrieved his belongings before rushing out of the studio.

* * *

Miles away, in a cool, dimly lit hotel room, four friends were spread out in a semicircle on a multi-stained carpet. They were surrounded by empty pizza boxes, crushed soda cans, and piles of notebooks and loose sheets of paper with multiple scrawled notes. However, for the first time in weeks, they were able to allow themselves to completely relax.

Since their trip was taking longer than expected, each of them had contacted their professors, who, under the given circumstances, allowed them to continue their schooling online. Because of this, almost every moment not spent at the hospital was used on school work. Needless to say, by the end of the four week mark, they were exhausted.

"The game is 21." Andre shuffled the deck of cards. "Does everyone know how to play?"

"Oooh! Can I be dealer? _Please?"_ Cat whined.

Andre smiled. "Sure, Cat." He pushed the deck toward the redhead girl. "You can deal."

Robbie sighed and leaned back against the wall. "I wonder how Beck's doing at his new job."

"Great, I'm sure," Jade answered. She smiled softly. "He can get along fine anywhere with his acting skills."

"Hopefully he'll be able to take his mind off of…_other things_ for a while." Andre glanced at his cards. "Stand."

Cat set the deck of cards on the table and turned to Robbie expectantly. "Robbie?"

"Um…hit me. Ow! _Cat!"_

"You said hit me!"

"You don't _actually_ hit me!"

"I'm sorry!"

Robbie glared. "I'll get it myself," he muttered. He took a card from the deck before saying, "Stand."

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Jade rolled her eyes and stood. "I'll get it."

She unlocked and opened the door. She was surprised to see Beck standing in the doorway.

"Hey," she said. She stepped back. "We were just in the middle of – "

"The Vegas texted not long ago," Beck interrupted. "We need to get to the hospital as soon as possible."

Panic began to settle in as Andre stood and reached for his shoes. "What happened? Is everything alright?"

Jade stepped back, allowing Beck inside, before rummaging through the clutter for her purse.

A smile slowly crept across Beck's face, and it almost reached his eyes. For the first time in a long time, his eyes held a new brightness. His voice was filled with excitement as he answered, "She woke up."

* * *

The normal fifteen minute drive took less than ten for the five jubilant friends.

The waiting room at First Mercy Hospital was suddenly filled with anxious family members and friends. Doctors and nurses were continuously in and out of Tori's room for the next hour and a half until finally, David and Holly were allowed into her room.

Beck was restless. For the first half hour, he paced the floor, going from one wall to another. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

Andre sighed. "You're going to wear a path into the floor," he said.

Beck grunted in response but continued to pace.

Cat looked up at him. "Beck, will you please take a seat?"

Beck rolled his eyes before wordlessly sinking into an empty chair. Even then, he impatiently drummed his fingers on the armrest, all the while anxiously keeping his eyes fixated on the clock.

"Look at you. You're a nervous wreck," Jade smirked.

"I need to see her," he mumbled. "Just – I just need to see her. I need to know for sure."

Suddenly, the door opened and a beaming David and Holly stepped out. Instantly, Beck was on his feet. "How is she?"

"Fine. Just fine," Holly replied airily. She nearly floated to one of the vacant chairs before taking a seat. "She's still a bit confused and has complained of a terrible headache, but considering the situation, she's doing great."

David settled into the seat next to his wife. He gently wrapped his arm around Holly's shoulder, and she leaned into his embrace. He looked up at Beck. "I'm sure you're anxious to see Tori," he said.

Beck ran a hand through his hair. "Is there – is she –" he sighed and started again. "Does she want to see me?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he couldn't help but feel foolish; however, their last conversation certainly left their relationship on edge, and he wasn't entirely sure where they stood.

To his great relief, David nodded and smiled. "She's been asking for you."

* * *

"I thought I'd lost you."

Out of the thousands of thoughts running through Beck's mind, those few words were the first to be spoken between the two.

He was perched on the edge of her bed, clasping her hand between his own. His eyes never left hers as he took in everything about her. If he looked away, he feared, all of this would disappear, and he would wake up just as he had almost every other night. _Alone._

"I'm sorry," she whispered. Her voice was quiet and slightly hoarse as she spoke. She released a shaky breath and looked down at their joined hands. "I'm sorry for everything. I just – I shouldn't have left. I screwed up and I should have owned up to it."

Beck shook his head. "I didn't exactly handle it well, either." He reached out and gently caressed Tori's cheek, and she leaned into his touch. "It wasn't until those cops showed up at our door that night that I realized how much you mean to me, and how badly I handled everything." He sighed heavily. "It wasn't worth all of this," he whispered. "Nothing is worth putting someone through this – this hell, and…I'm sorry."

Silence fell heavily in the room. Then, wordlessly, Tori reached up and gently brought Beck's face down toward hers. She smiled softly before closing her mouth over his in a kiss. He closed his eyes. As soon they parted, he returned the favor with a kiss of his own. It wasn't until several long moments later that he pulled away, breathless.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you, too." She gave him a tired smile. "Babe, do you know if the doctor has my test results back yet?"

Beck looked at her in confusion. "What test results?"

Tori struggled to shift positions in the bed. She winced at the severe pain in her ribs and head before replying, "My parents said they had to run some tests to check on the baby."

Startled, Beck straightened his posture. "They didn't tell you?"

Someone cleared their throat. Beck turned to find David and Holly standing in the doorway, their expressions quite somber. "You lied to her?" Beck said. He slowly slid off the bed, releasing Tori's hand. "When were you going to tell her?"

"She's still weak," David replied. With slow, careful steps, he started toward his daughter's bed. "We were going to wait for the right time."

Tori looked between the two men. "What is it?" When no one replied, she reached out and took Beck's hand. "Beck?"

Beck swallowed hard, forcing down his anger. Then, he turned to find himself looking into his favorite pair of dark eyes. He couldn't bring himself to lie – not after all she had been through.

He sighed, and suddenly he felt much older than his nineteen years of age. He kissed her hand gently. "Tori, the baby…she didn't make it," he said. His voice trembled terribly as he spoke the dreadful words. "They tried to save her, but by the time they got you into the emergency room…" he shook his head slowly. "I'm so sorry."

Her face slowly crumpled. Tears built up in her eyes and flowed freely down her cheeks. The sight was heartbreaking.

Beck leaned forward and gently took her in his arms. It was then that she completely broke out in sobs.

"She's dead," she cried. "Oh, God, she's dead, and it's my fault."

Beck closed his eyes. His own tears mixed with Tori's as he continued to hold her, sharing her miserable pain. "It's not your fault," he said softly.

"Yes, it is," she sobbed. "It's my fault. She's dead because of me."

Beck stroked her hair soothingly and kissed her gently, just below her jaw line. His voice broke for the first time as he softly replied, "We'll get through this, Tori. We'll get through this, and I promise, everything will be alright."

* * *

"How long has he been in there?" Robbie glanced anxiously at the clock. "He's our ride, and I don't know about all of you, but I'm starving."

"He may have decided to stay the night, if they'll let him." Andre stood. "If he did, I'll get his keys and we can leave and come back later."

"I'm coming, too," Jade answered. She stood and stretched. "I'm sick of being cooped up in this waiting room."

Andre held the door open for Jade and turned back toward the others. "We'll be right back," he said.

Jade made her way down the long hallway, passing a long string of hospital rooms along the way. Andre followed close behind.

All was quiet. It was late, and most of the patients were asleep by now. The only other sound was the soft echo of their shoes as they made contact with the tiled floor.

"You would think he would have had the decency to tell us if he's staying," Jade grumbled.

"Calm down. Everything is…" he broke off and stopped short just outside the door.

Jade, not paying attention, bumped into the back of him. "Hey, what are you…" she paused. "Oh."

Tori's room was dark, except for a single overhead light. It was quiet, with the steady, rhythmic sound of the heart monitor being the only other noise in the room.

Beck and Tori lay serenely in the bed, both asleep. His left arm was wrapped around her waist, and his fingers gently entwined with hers as their hands rested low on her belly.

She rested her head on his chest as she slept. Her cheeks were tear streaked and her face pale. However, for the first time in several months, she finally seemed at peace.

Jade tilted her head slightly as she watched the young couple. "One year," she said. "It took them just one year to find true love."

Andre nodded. "Despite all they've been through, they still managed to keep their relationship intact."

"It's amazing, that's for sure." Jade sighed and looked up at Andre. "Do you think we'll ever find love like they did?"

Andre smiled softly. "One can only hope."

Silence fell between the two. Back in the room, Tori shifted slightly in her sleep. Beck's arm tightened around her as he pulled her closer. She nestled against him before settling down once again.

Andre quietly walked into the room and dug through Beck's jacket, which was slung over the back of the chair. He removed Beck's truck keys before leaving the room. He slipped his arm through Jade's. "Come on," he said softly. "Let's go."


	12. Graduation: 3 Years Later

Tori stood at the kitchen counter, her hands resting against the cool marble counter. In front of her lay an old Thank You note. Large, loopy writing stared back at her.

_Dear Beck and Tori,_

_Thanks._

_Sincerely,_

_Andre & Jade_

Short, sweet, and to the point. Typical.

Beck came up behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist. "Shouldn't you be getting ready? We have to be at the college soon."

Tori nodded. "I know." She smiled softly before turning around to face her boyfriend. "I was just thinking…I still can't believe they got married before _us._"

Beck sighed. "We talked about this," he murmured.

She rolled her eyes. "I know." Her arms slid around his neck as she stood on tip-toe to kiss him. She smiled weakly. "A girl can still dream."

He caressed her cheek gently, brushing a strand of stray hair from her face. "You know I love you more than anything in this world," he said. "But you and I agreed we rushed into an engagement before. We need to wait for the right time."

She nodded. "You're right, of course."

He gently tilted her chin up so her eyes met his steadily. Then, slowly, he leaned forward and kissed her deeply.

And right then, nothing else even mattered.

* * *

"Jade, come on. We're going to be late."

"Give me five minutes!"

"We don't have – "

_Slam._ The deafening sound of their bedroom door closing roughly filled the tiny apartment. Andre rolled his eyes as he put on his gown over his black slacks and button-down white shirt. He snatched up his car keys and cell phone before anxiously glancing at the clock. Ten minutes to go. He began to pace in resignation to the situation.

Just then, Jade emerged from the bedroom. "How's this? Too slutty?"

He looked up, and he couldn't help the grin that slowly crossed his face.

Her dress was strapless and short, falling inches before her knees. Its color was only a few shades lighter than her dark hair, which now fell in loose curls around her shoulders. She wore a pair of black six-inch heels and earings to complete the outfit.

She placed her hands on her hips and looked at him expectantly. "Well?"

He stepped toward her and gently took her in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he kissed her. "You look great."

"Mm…thanks, babe." She smiled and gave him a kiss of her own before reluctantly unwrapping herself from Andre's arms. She picked up her cap and gown. "Ready?"

Andre nodded as he put on and straightened his cap. "Let's do this."

* * *

Graduation – the day that one chapter of their lives ends, and another begins.

Three years ago, their futures had been uncertain, and neither Beck nor Tori had been sure she would live to see this day. They had been through what seemed like hell and back over the past several years, fighting though physical and emotional issues; however, with one another's support, they managed to pull through.

After spending months in a hospital room, being forced to relive her miserable past, and receiving the news of her miscarriage, she had agreed to return to therapy. She met with a different psychiatrist and left months later with amazing results.

Now here she was, surrounded by her classmates, ready to put the past behind her once and for all.

The room became silent as the Dean of Tisch School of the Arts took his place on the massive stage. Slowly – a bit _too_ slowly – he put on his glasses and shuffled through a fairly thick pile of papers. Finally, he looked up and smiled at the group at large.

"Welcome to Tisch School of the Arts – home of the finest performing arts students in New York. We are here today in celebration as these fine young men and women continue on with their bright futures." He motioned toward the large group of students. "And now, I introduce to you the graduating class." The sound of yells and cheers followed his introduction.

The Valedictorian was introduced next, and Beck took his place center stage as he fell into a well-rehearsed speech. And even though every eye was on him, his eyes clearly lingered on _her_ – the one girl who, three years ago, he never imagined would be sitting before him among their classmates at their graduation.

Partway through his speech, someone tapped Tori on the shoulder and leaned forward.

"He doesn't even look nervous. How can he be so calm?"

Tori smiled. "He's been through a lot over the past few years," she answered. She turned her eyes back to Beck. "To him, this is nothing."

His speech was coming to an end. "And now, I leave you with one of the most cliché comments that will ever leave my mouth." He cleared his throat, building up to the moment. "Friends and fellow classmates, I ask that you always remember one thing: you _are_ the future."

And with that, he promptly stepped down from the stage. A mixture of laughter and roaring applause followed him back to his seat.

* * *

On the opposite side of the country, four of their closest friends were lined up, waiting anxiously for the sound of their name to echo through the gymnasium.

Every seat was filled with either a family member or friend of a graduate. Cameras flashed and parents cheered enthusiastically as their child's name was called. It certainly was a day of excitement.

For most.

"_Rebecca Carlson."_

Slowly, the line of graduates moved forward. Jade's fingers tightened slightly in Andre's.

"_Marcus Clay."_

"Speed it up," Jade muttered. "Some people have other plans."

"_Amelia Dike."_

"Patience," Andre softly replied. "We'll be through the line in no time."

"_David Falkner."_

Jade groaned. "They're just starting the F's," she groaned.

Suddenly, Andre's cell phone beeped once, announcing an incoming text message. He rolled his eyes and dug in his pocket for his phone. He scanned the message quickly, then smiled.

"Who is it?" Jade asked.

"Beck." He stuffed the phone back in his pocket. "He and Tori just got back to their apartment, diplomas in hand. They've officially graduated from Tisch School of the Arts."

"_Samantha Hanson."_

"College graduates." Jade smoothed the sleek fabric of her gown. The diamond on her left hand caught the light in the room and winked back at her. She smiled back softly before returning her gaze to the line ahead of her. Almost there. She sighed. "In a few seconds, we'll be able to say the same."

"_Jacob Hall."_

"Finally." Andre squeezed Jade's hand gently. "See you on the other side."

"_Andre Harris."_

Then, with a large grin and a feeling of great accomplishment, he crossed the stage for the last time and received his diploma. Applause and whistles from family and friends filled the gym.

He then stopped at the bottom of the stairs and waited.

"_Jade Harris."_

The soft sound of her heels against the wooden stage sounded as she, too, crossed that same stage, head held high. She did not acknowledge the cheers of excitement, but instead she joined her husband, hooking her arm through his. The beaming young couple then slowly made their way back to their seats.

And even Jade, one of the emotionally strongest, toughest women at the University of California, couldn't quite ignore the feeling of sadness as she sat among her classmates for the last time.

Until the last name was called.

And then as one, the large group of students moved their tassels to the opposite side. For the first time in years, they finally felt free.

* * *

"Beck, what's this big surprise you have for me?"

He rolled his eyes. "It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you."

Tori sighed. "Can I guess?"

He smiled faintly. "Don't bother." He turned off the kitchen light. "We're here."

Suddenly, she felt his cold hands brush against her cheek as he reached up to remove her blindfold.

"Voila."

In front of her, on the table, was a candlelit dinner. A rarely used tablecloth covered the table. Glass plates – only used for special occasions in their household – were set out along with tall glasses of water. In the center of table, a candle flickered faintly, lighting the room in a quite romantic manner.

Her eyes widened. "Beck, this is…"

"Clichéd, right?"

She shook her head and turned to face Beck. "It's amazing," she said. She kissed him lightly and took his hand, leading him to the table. "I can't believe this."

Beck smiled and kissed Tori gently. "Had to do _something_ special," he replied. "We _did_ just graduate from college."

He pulled out her chair for her and she took a seat at the table. He then removed a pan of vegetable lasagna from the oven and placed it on the table.

"Dinner is served." He took a seat across from Tori. "Enjoy."

"So you kept me cooped up in the bedroom for two hours for all of this?"

Beck took a long drink of his water before inquiring, "Was it worth it?"

"Absolutely." Tori reached across the table and squeezed Beck's hand gently. "I love it. It's perfect." She took a bite of her lasagna, and her eyes lit up. "Delicious, too," she added.

"Glad you like it." He picked up his own fork and began to cut his lasagna into single bites. "So, how does it feel to be a college graduate?"

Tori smiled. "Great." She picked up her napkin and dabbed at her mouth before continuing, "My parents were certainly excited about it." She sighed. "I guess after everything that went on..." she broke off.

"But that's behind us now. All of it," Beck said gently.

Tori nodded in response. "Of course."

Silence fell between the two. Heavy, heavy silence. Finally, Tori laughed shortly. "I just completely killed the mood, didn't I?" She leaned back in her chair. "Sorry," she murmured.

Beck shrugged. "Maybe I can lighten things up again." He stood. "I have another surprise for you."

Tori rolled her eyes. "Babe, you didn't have to do all of this," she said. She set down her fork. "And to think, all I got you was a lousy laptop computer."

"Which is great, I might add." He reached into his coat pocket and removed a small gift wrapped in white. "Congrats, from me to you."

Tori took the small object from him. Then, with one eye continuously kept on Beck, she unwrapped the gift. Her breath caught. "Beck…"

She looked up, breaking her gaze from the diamond. Beck knelt on one knee on the floor in front of Tori. He took her hand gently. "Tori, we've been through a lot over the past four years since we began dating. Honestly, I wasn't sure I would get this opportunity again, but I'm amazed and incredibly grateful to be here with you right now."

Tori smiled softly. Tears of joy pooled in her eyes. She remained quiet, allowing him to continue.

"We rushed our relationship before, but it's been several years now. Since then, we've come closer than ever before." He took a deep breath. "So here we are, three years later and still going strong. So now I ask one more time..."

Tori's smile widened. She couldn't help but feel a bit of déjà vu as she heard the one question that would ultimately change her life forever.

"Tori Vega, will you marry me?"

* * *

I'm sorry it took so long to get an update posted. I had to put my stories on hold temporarily, but I should be posting more soon. Hopefully the wait was worth it.

And as I was writing this, I realized that Jade is completely OOC; however, they _are _in college now, so I should_ hope _that she would mature a little as time goes on. But anyway, sorry for the change in personality throughout the story :)

Two more chapters to go. Hope you all have enjoyed the story so far!


	13. Chapter 13

Hello, everyone! Sorry for the long wait. Finally, here's the next chapter of Beautiful Deceit. Only one more chapter after this (an epilogue). Hopefully that chapter will be up sooner than this one was posted.

Hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: The only thing I own is the plot. And I feel like I should mention that both the wedding dress and the bridesmaids' dresses are actual dresses that I found pictures of online, so I don't own those either :)

* * *

They wed one month later.

On an unusually cool June evening, family members and close friends gathered for the ceremony, which was to be held outdoors. Rows of white individual chairs were placed on either side of a long, white runner, which served as the aisle. At the end of it was a simple yet beautiful alter, covered with white, lacy fabric and red roses.

Everything was perfect.

Inside the church, the wedding party prepared for the ceremony.

"I hate dresses." In a tiny room normally used for Sunday School, Jade studied herself in front of a full-length mirror. She and two other bridesmaids wore a strapless floor-length dress. The fabric was bunched and fell in small folds. A thick black ribbon tied at the side in a large bow completed the dress. Jade scrunched her nose at the sight. "At least it's black."

Tori rolled her eyes. "Way to look on the bright side," she muttered. She sighed and placed her hands on her hips firmly. "Are you almost done?"

Holly Vega nodded. "Almost." She jabbed another hairpin into her daughter's hair. Tori winced. "I'm just having a little difficulty…_there._" Holly stood back in triumph. "Finished. Take a look."

Tori walked over to the mirror, stepping around the miniature tables that had failed to be put up before her arrival. She was amazed at the person that stared back at her.

Like the bridesmaid dresses, her wedding dress was strapless. The bottom of the dress just barely touched the floor, and behind her, the fabric formed a small train.

Her mother stood behind her in awe. "You look beautiful," she whispered. "My baby is all grown up."

Tori rolled her eyes but smiled. "Thanks, Mom." She turned around. "I'm ready, then." She glanced at the clock. "With ten minutes to spare."

"We did well on time." Cat took a seat in one of the chairs that surrounded one of the small tables. She smiled mysteriously. "You seem to be holding up well, but…I wonder how Beck is."

* * *

"You need to relax."

Beck grunted in answer but continued to pace from wall to wall.

"You're a nervous wreck. You have got to relax."

"Easy for you to say." Beck stopped and ran a hand through his hair anxiously. "_You_ aren't getting hitched in less than ten minutes."

"Isn't it the woman's job to have an emotional breakdown?" Robbie smirked.

"Robbie." Andre shot him a warning glance before saying, "Let me handle this." As Robbie took a seat, Andre turned to his best friend of many years. He sighed then fixed what he hoped was an encouraging smile onto his face. "I've been through this before. I've done the whole wedding thing, and I know what you're going through. It's a nerve-wracking–"

Beck rolled his eyes and collapsed in a chair. "Get to the point," he muttered.

"Alright. I'll tell you the same thing you told me before I got married."

From across the room, Robbie scoffed. "Good luck?"

Andre glared, but before he could answer, someone knocked on the door. Beck's father poked his head in. "Everyone ready?"

"Almost." Robbie nodded toward his friend. "Beck is a little nervous."

His father sighed and stepped into the room. "You made all of us wait _three years_ for this wedding, now get it together and get out there." His cheerful smile widened. "Your bride awaits you."

* * *

The ceremony was amazing. A beaming groom stood at the end of the aisle as his glowing bride slowly made her way to him, her father by her side. As they came to a stop at the end, David gave Tori away. Then, with a quick kiss on the cheek, he returned to his seat beside his wife.

Beck hesitantly turned his gaze from Tori to her father for a moment. To his great surprise, he found that David Vega – one of the strongest men he knew – had tears in his eyes as he watched his baby girl begin an entirely different life.

Vows were exchanged, as were the rings. Then, the moment they had anxiously been waiting for finally arrived as two simple words with a powerful meaning were spoken. _I do._

And with a kiss, all was sealed. The newlyweds were beaming as the pastor announced, "I introduce to you Mr. and Mrs. Beckett Oliver."

* * *

Afterward, a reception was held at The River Café in Manhattan. Round tables covered in white tablecloth lined the dining area. City lights reflected off of the calm waters, which could be seen perfectly from every surrounding window. Dim lighting and soft music gave the reception area a comfortable yet romantic feel.

"This is amazing," Tori said softly. She looked around the room in wonder. "It's so beautiful."

Beck smiled. He gently laced his fingers through hers and brought her hand up to kiss it. "You're beautiful," he said softly.

"Mm…that's so incredibly corny."

"But true."

Suddenly, a voice boomed over the speakers. "Alright, everyone, it's time for the first dance. Will the lovely newlyweds please come forward?"

_Newlyweds. _The mere sound of the word added to the excitement of the day's events. Beaming, Tori gently squeezed her husband's hand and followed him to the center of the room, which had been cleared to be used as a dance floor.

Beck took her in his arms and held her gently. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he wrapped his around her waist. He pulled her close and held her gently as they began to sway to the music. As the soft melody of _Finally Falling_ filled the air, she smiled against his shoulder.

"I can't believe this is happening," she said. She looked up into Beck's dark eyes. "We're actually married."

"After three long years." He smiled and caressed her cheek gently. "Finally, we can really start our lives together."

Around them, the music continued, and nearly a hundred pairs of eyes were completely on them and them alone. Tori's grip on Beck's shoulder tightened slightly. "Everyone's watching us," she whispered.

Beck grinned. "That's a lot of pressure," he murmured. "Aren't you worried about falling? Those heels have to be – "

"Don't even think about it," Tori warned. But she couldn't quite hold back the smile that played on her lips.

_Suddenly I see what I didn't before  
__And I don't care what they say anymore  
__Cause I'm falling, falling_

Tori sighed contently. She rested her head on Beck's shoulder and closed her eyes. Gently, she felt her husband's lips brush against her forehead. "I love you."

She pulled back slightly and looked up into a pair of soft brown eyes. She smiled up at him. "I love you, too, babe. I love you, too."

And then the song ended, and the entire room broke into applause. The young couple shared a loving kiss before breaking apart, keeping only their hands joined.

Everything seemed surreal. Tori's fingers tightened slightly in her husband's hand, causing the diamond on her left ring finger to reflect off of the soft lighting. As she looked up at Beck, she met his eyes steadily. The amount of loving passion she felt for her him right then was so strong she was sure her heart would burst.

And at that very moment, she realized that after several years of waiting, she had finally found peace.


	14. Epilogue

Well, the time has finally come. Here's the last chapter of Beautiful Deceit. I'd like to say thank you so much to everyone who has helped me with this story, especially clumsy20 and Silver Screech, who beta read for me. I also thank everyone who has kept up with this story, and thank you for all of the amazing reviews. It's been a fun story to write.

And now, here it is: the final chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

She awoke to the sound of crying.

It was snowing, and the entire city was in the middle of a blizzard warning. Up until this point, the only other sound that could be heard was the rough wind as it beat against the windows. Occasionally, the sound of a branch snapping off of a nearby tree and falling to the ground could be heard as well. Otherwise, it was quiet.

Now, however, a new sound broke through Tori's light sleep. Soft at first, the crying was quickly growing in intensity. Groaning, she ran a hand over her face and turned over in bed. She glanced at the alarm clock beside their bed. Almost midnight.

Beside her, Beck began to stir. "It's my turn again, isn't it?" he mumbled.

Tori shook her head and slowly pushed herself up to a sitting position. "It's fine, it's fine, forget it," she replied. She pushed the sheets back and stepped out of bed, putting on her slippers in the process. "Go back to sleep, babe."

He sighed and buried himself beneath the covers. "Like that's even remotely possible right now," he mumbled. He closed his eyes.

Tori carefully stepped over a pile of dirty clothes to get to the crib that stood against the wall beside the door. Two week old Matthew was fussing in his bed, his tiny arms outstretched as he groped for comforting arms.

Tori sighed and carefully scooped him up. "Shh, baby boy. It's okay," she whispered soothingly. She wrapped his soft blue blanket around him and carried him out to the kitchen, where she began to prepare a bottle.

As she waited, she slowly paced the room with the child, his head resting against her shoulder. As he began to fuss again, she kissed him gently and rubbed his back. "It's almost ready," she murmured. She walked to the kitchen window.

Large snowflakes were whirling around outside. The entire earth around them was covered in a thick blanket of white snow. Tori smiled softly at the sight. It was absolutely beautiful.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps slowly making their way down the hallway. She turned just as Beck entered the kitchen. "What are you doing up?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Couldn't sleep," he answered. He took a seat at the table. "Thought I might as well join the rest of the family."

Tori smiled. "Maybe you can get him to settle down a bit," she said. "I'm not having much luck right now."

Beck nodded. "Sure, I'll give it a try." He held out his arms and Tori carefully handed Matthew over.

The microwave beeped, and Tori removed the bottle. She shook it carefully and then turned back to her husband and child. She smiled at the sight before her.

Matthew was cradled in the crook of Beck's arm, wrapped snuggly in the blue blanket. Slowly, one small hand reached out, and five tiny fingers wrapped around one of Beck's own. A hushed cry escaped the baby's lips, but he quickly fell silent again.

Tori handed Beck the bottle. "He loves his Daddy," she said.

Beck smiled and cocked his head slightly. "Daddy's little boy." He gently placed the bottle against Matthew's lips. The little boy eagerly accepted it and quietly began to drink the lukewarm milk. "I still can't believe he's ours."

"I know. He's so adorable." Tori sighed. "And I'm afraid my parents are going to spoil him whenever we visit."

Beck laughed. "Yeah. My parents have already bought tons of clothes and toys for when we go back home to visit. They can't wait to see him."

For a long moment, the three sat in silence – Matthew quietly sipping his drink, and his parents watching adoringly. The only other sound in the room was that of the ticking clock hanging on the pale white wall.

Finally, Beck cleared his throat. "Speaking of home," he said, "I've been thinking about us and the apartment and everything, and…what would you think about moving back to California?"

Tori raised her eyebrows. "California?" Then she laughed shortly. "Have you been talking to my mother?"

Beck smiled faintly. "Close. I've actually been talking to _my_ mother." He set the now-empty bottle on the table and carefully straightened Matthew up to a sitting position. He gently began to pat his back. "But she did bring up some good points, such as the fact that we would have babysitters for when we're both at work."

Tori studied her nails absently. "True," she mumbled.

"And we'd be closer to our family and friends. We wouldn't have to travel near as far for the holidays, which with Matthew will be much harder to do."

"And that would be great," Tori said. She sighed heavily and stood, crossing her arms. She finally looked up and into her husband's dark eyes. "But, Beck, we've already made a family _here_ in New York. I mean, a majority of our lives together has been here – college, the wedding, and Matthew, of course. And the jobs we have now are amazing. I mean, how many people get to actually work on Broadway? And how many people land major movie roles in New York of all places?"

Beck sighed. "Not many," he admitted.

Tori shrugged. "We have so much here already. Isn't that enough?"

Before he could answer, Matthew released a small burp. Almost immediately, he began to fuss again.

Beck shifted the baby in his arms and stood. Wordlessly, he went into the living room and took a seat in the rocker. Tori followed close behind.

Beck rocked Matthew gently in the rocker. Snuggled in his father's arms, the newborn finally closed his large dark eyes and fell into a deep slumber.

Beck and Tori watched as Matthew's chest rose and fell with each breath. Beck gently planted a kiss on his forehead. "We do have a lot here," he said finally. "And moving would require both of us to find new jobs."

"And it would be a hassle, especially with a baby to take care of now."

Beck nodded. "You're right." He smiled faintly. "I guess talking to my parents brought on temporary homesickness."

Tori sighed and took a seat on the couch beside him. She reached over and gently rested her hand on his. "Maybe someday the right time will come and we can move back. But right now…"

"We wait it out." Beck nodded curtly. "It's fine. No problem. I completely understand."

Tori smiled and squeezed Beck's hand gently. She walked over to her husband and child. "Meanwhile, it's past midnight. Do you know what that means?"

Beck smiled and nodded. "Baby's first Christmas has now begun."

"And he's still asleep." She smiled and kissed Matthew's forehead gently. "So much for opening presents at midnight like usual, huh?"

Beck scoffed. "Yeah." He shrugged. "Maybe next year we can pick up the tradition again."

Tori nodded. She then leaned forward and gently closed her mouth over Beck's. "Merry Christmas, babe," she whispered.

"Merry Christmas," he echoed. "I love you, Tori."

"I love you, too, Beck." She smiled softly. "I hope you aren't too disappointed with the gifts this year. I had to cut back a little for the baby." Her smile widened. "Our parents can't be the only ones that spoil him, after all."

Beck grinned and shook his head. "Not a problem," he said. His eyes went from his wife to his son, who remained asleep, still cradled in the crook of Beck's arm. Beck smiled softly as he gently caressed the child's cheek. "I already have everything I need right here."


End file.
